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Report: Mayweather-Pacquiao fight could cost $99 on pay-per-view
The highly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will cost as much as $99 on pay-per-view, reportsThe Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint.
The bout between the world's top 147-pound fighters was announced in late February and scheduled for May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. HBO and Showtime are handling negotiations for Pacquiao and Mayweather respectively, and the current terms of the broadcast negotiations have a high-definition feed going for a pay-per-view record $99 and a standard-definition feed for $89.
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The previous record, according to the Journal, was $74.95 for high-definition and $64.95 for standard-definition.
Initially, pay TV distributors were asked to give up as much as 70% of the revenue instead of the usual 50% to 55%. That offer was quickly rejected.
The tentative agreement now being hammered out will be less favorable to the distributors than the standard deal but not as drastic as the first offer, people with knowledge of the terms said. The final split will also be determined by the amount of marketing and promotions the various cable operators put into the fight. If certain incentives are met, the distributors have the potential to get 40% of the pay-per-view revenue.
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The fight has been widely reported to be worth more than $250 million. Tickets for the fight will cost between $1,500 and $7,500, promoters announced at a press conference last month. The MGM Grand Garden Arena has a seating capacity of 16,800 people.
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Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, said last month the gate for the fight could reach $74 million, which would eclipse the existing boxing record of about $20 million.
- Mike Fiammetta
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