Why Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 Is Streaming on Netflix Instead of PPV

Industry shift reflects shrinking PPV market a decade after record-breaking 2015 fight

Floyd Mayweather’s rematch with Manny Pacquiao will stream on Netflix instead of traditional pay-per-view. The platform change reflects a boxing market that no longer guarantees massive buy rates.

Back in 2015, the first Mayweather and Pacquiao meeting pulled in 4.6 million U.S. buys and cleared $600 million globally. At that time, both were active titleholders at their peak. A decade later, they are both in their late forties. Mayweather has focused on exhibitions lately, while Pacquiao has stayed active only in spots, most recently fighting to a majority draw with Mario Barrios for a WBC title last summer.

The rematch is being billed as an official professional contest, meaning Mayweather’s 50-0 record will be on the line at age 49. Even with that added competitive element, the event is not being placed behind a traditional $80 or $90 pay-per-view price tag.

Returning to pay-per-view would require confidence that the 2015 audience would pay premium prices again. That model exposes every event to public buy-rate figures. Soft numbers follow a fighter into the next negotiation.

Netflix shifts the exposure. Audience metrics stay in-house, and the financial return is secured through a rights payment instead of counting every single transaction.

The pay-per-view market has contracted lately, as fewer events hit the massive buy numbers of the past. While prices have climbed, fans have increasingly moved toward subscription services. For veteran stars returning after years away from the title picture, the risk of a low buy rate is much harder to justify than it was ten years ago.

This will be the first professional boxing card at The Sphere in Las Vegas, making the venue a major part of the draw. That kind of spectacle works better on a subscription service than it does as a risky pay-per-view gamble.

The names still have massive pull. Moving to a new platform shows the industry knows the business model from ten years ago won’t work the same way today.