Mayweather-Pacquiao Boxing Match: HBO, Showtime vs. Pay Television Distributors over How They Split the Money

While the price to watch on TV the May 2 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao for the welterwight championship hasn't been set yet, it is generally conceded that it would be in the vicinity of around $90. The problem though is that Time Warner's HBO which has rights to Mr. Pacquiao and CBS's Showtime which has rights to Mr. Mayweather are both keen on getting a much more favorable arrangement for their fighters from the pay-television distributors than the traditional 50-50 split for a pay-per-view fight according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The initial offer from HBO and Showtime was a 70-30 split, said the WSJ report, but the pay-TV providers immediately rejected that and there has been little movement from either side since. Because of the demand, HBO and Showtime think a 50-50 split is a nonstarter. The camps of the boxers, who get the lion's share of the revenue, ultimately must sign off on any deal. Bob Arum, chief executive of Top Rank Inc., which handles promotion for Mr. Pacquiao, said: "I wouldn't agree to it [50-50 split]. I really believe everybody agrees that there has to be a more generous split and they are in the process of working out what it will be."

At the other end of the bargaining table, Rob Jacobson, chief content officer of Vubiquity, which negotiates on behalf of AT&T Inc. and other distributors, said to WSF: "To the extent the fight performs beyond what we've seen in pay-per-view before, we're happy to consider untraditional economics. Until that point however, it is speculative and therefore the economics should be more traditionally set."

Beyond the pay-per-view proceeds, the fight is expected to bring in $75 million in event ticket sales, $10 million in international revenue and an additional $10 million in sponsorship according to the WSJ report. As for the fighters, Mayweather will receive the lion's share of a 60-40 money split as per agreement between the two camps. In terms of billing, his name will also be first on the "Mayweather-Pacquiao" fight card. He will walk to the ring second and be introduced after Pacquiao.