Pay-per-view programs leave fans fighting mad
Cable, satellite systems strained by high demand
NEW YORK – For some boxing fans, the big fight Saturday night turned out to be between them and their cable companies.
Strong pay-per-view demand for the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas caused problems for cable and satellite systems, especially when people tried to order at the last second, which delayed the start of the fight. It’s another sting to the reputation of an industry that’s already beset with criticism over poor service and competition from streaming video providers.
Still other boxing fans circumvented cable companies entirely, watching the fight live on video-streaming apps such as Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope, which let users broadcast video directly to the Internet from their smartphones.
Some who used this workaround had tried to buy the fight and failed. Others just didn’t want to pay to watch, bragging on Twitter how they saved the $100 fee. Some went as far as calling it the future and knock-out victory for social media, although there are no concrete numbers at this time of how many people watched via Meerkat or Periscope.
The bout was expected to be the most popular in pay-per-view history, with an estimated 3 million households buying the fight at nearly $100 each.
The next round may be between fight promoters and the streaming services. CBS, parent company of Showtime, which helped present the fight, declined to comment about viewers watching via the apps.
But last week, CBS and Time Warner’s HBO took two websites to federal court – BoxingHD.net and SportShip.org – successfully blocking them from airing the fight. HBO has also previously criticized Periscope for allowing people to live-stream the premiere of “Game of Thrones” last month, a move it called “mass copyright infringement.”
Scores of angry tweets directed at various providers complained of problems with both ordering and watching. Some users said when they tried to order, the fight wasn’t available. Others complained of picture problems or an inability to tune to the pay-per-view channel.
Ellen Cooper, a spokeswoman for InDemand, which distributes the signal from the event to the cable companies, said there were no issues with her company’s connection.
“It was flawless. There were no problems with that signal,” Cooper said.