Just say no...

Ben Pierce

03.02 - I refuse to buy the all-of-a-sudden flooded market of pay-per-view boxing matches. It seems to now be the norm that if one of the major promoters cannot get a date on one of the networks for their fighters, the fight will almost automatically become a pay-per-view event. I think this is a dangerous trend and will be a detriment to the future of boxing.

It is also difficult to understand why we as boxing fans should be forced to pay for something that most all other sports offer for free. Baseball, basketball, tennis, football and most all other major sports offer their televised games to the general public without charge. Why must boxing be different? I see arenas that are packed with boxing fans, the casinos and other venues pay large site fees to host these events and the cable networks pay handsome prices to broadcast the fights. So why the need to make an increasing portion of boxing available only on a pay-per-view basis?

These newly formulated pay-per-view fight cards are not mega-fights, they in some cases are boring fight cards with boring fighters, but at their best the are the same fights we can normally see without paying on one of the many networks that currently offer boxing programming.

I do not mind paying for the bigger fights, the exciting match ups…the big showdowns between the superstars of our sport, but I simply refuse to pay for the cards they are now offering on pay-per-view. And if more boxing fans follow my lead then this blatant attempt to get every dollar possible from the fans, most likely to line the pockets of the big time promoters, will cease to exist as quickly as they are becoming common place.

The trend toward pay-per-view is increasing and now the promoters proudly announce these cards as if they are a big thing…as if they are doing the fans a favor by charging them to see theses fights. Please…do me no more favors.

I see these announcements every day…Don King, Bob Arum, Lou Dibella and many others are now venturing into the pay-per-view market in boxing. If this trend continues it can only be to the detriment of the sport. It limits the sport's exposure to the mainstream public and continues to limit the numbers of fights available for the majority of fans. Many boxing fans simply cannot afford to pay for these broadcasts and some fans do not have the access to purchase them if they desired.

How can this be a good thing for boxing? It is not a good thing for the sport, it is simply a good thing for the promoters, and a way to increase their revenue at the expense of what is already a dwindling number of boxing fans.

We need to increase the exposure of boxing, not limit it by placing a price tag on the sport. Boxing fans already have to subscribe to cable television or some type of satellite programming to receive the majority of fights being broadcasted. The regular television network programming no longer offers boxing. Is this a natural progression from the free network programming of the past, to the must subscribe programming today…to the must pay to view programming that is already becoming more common place today and may be the norm in the future?

The powers that be in boxing are doing a good job of marketing these pay-per-view cards. They would like to have us believe it is a method will provide more boxing to the public, that they are discounting the price and that it is good for the sport.
I fail to see how adding an additional price tag makes more boxing available to the public or is in any way good for the sport…and how is a discounted price a good thing when we are already paying to see the sport in one form or another?

This is just another step down the road of demise that boxing has been traveling for years. It is simply a way for the powers that be to generate more money from an already dwindling market. The theory seems to be if the market is shrinking, lets just raise the price and we will still make the same amount or maybe more money.

We need to be looking at new ways to market the sport and generate more exposure for boxing instead of trying to squeeze every penny out of the sport and alienating an already shrinking fan base. If we increase the availability and the exposure of boxing to the public, then surely the sport can generate more fans, more revenue and continue to thrive and grow. I think pay-per-view is completely the wrong direction in marketing boxing.

How many promoters do you see trying to develop relationships with network television to bring boxing back to the mainstream? Very few, because these networks do not pay the larger fees that the major cable networks do for the privilege of broadcasting boxing. But we could and should be seeking sponsors for boxing on network television, instead of asking the fans to be the sole sponsors of the sport. The mostly male fan base of the sport has to be a demographic that is appealing to many advertisers. I had rather have a commercial during the break between rounds of a fight than a price tag placed on it.

I see this new influx of pay-per-view programming as yet another step down the wrong path for boxing. But it will be up to the fans to stop this trend. I am sure the boxing fans of years ago never imagined they would have to subscribe to television programming in order to see the sport they loved. They never thought things would change and when they did change, it was gradually accepted as the norm. If this great influx of pay-per-view programming continues, will it soon be the norm? I hope not…but it will be if we continue to accept and purchase the events.

My plans are to adhere to one of the more simple slogans we used in the war against drugs … I will "JUST SAY NO" to pay-per-view programming and I urge other fans to make the same choice. There is one thing that speaks volumes in boxing and that is money…I plan to keep mine.

Questions/Comments:benp1000@msn.com