The PPV business is dying as the UFC is the latest company to abandon the model

[Jman]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ufc-to-paramount-plus-under-ellison-pay-per-views-1236341387/
 

Instead they get a flat $7.7 billion over 7 years to put cards on Paramount Plus and CBS.  It feels like boxing is the only major industry left still doing PPV’s (them and AEW, and even AEW offers a discount if you have HBO Max) and it must be asked…does anyone miss Pay Per View?

[1pooh4u]

I def don’t miss PPV 

[André Toulon]

Jake paul bought his way into the pro ranks...no real fight fan is paying for ppv boxing after that 

Edited August 11 by André Toulon

[scoobdog]

There was a period after premium cable television became inundated with live professional sports events where pay-per-view made sense, but it was always intended to be a gateway to the content farming we have now.  The new ESPN DTC streaming service is notable only in that it closes this particular arc.

[lupin_bebop]

Honestly, PPV hasn’t been part of my life since the Tyson-Holyfield fight. Any UFC fight I’ve always been able to catch at Hooter’s or Twin Peaks or some other sports bar. Once streaming became ubiquitous, I could sail the high seas for any other events. 

[SwimOdin]

I never paid for one, but I had friends that would order WWE PPV back in the early 2000’s that I enjoyed 

[PhilosipherStoned]

I've paid for a PPV event exactly 0 times in over 30 years of living... Last thing I might even want to watch but yeah like WHY THE FUCK WOULD I DO THAT?....was the Tyson Vs. Jake Paul thing which I heard went horrible as fuck with unforeseen lag, crashes, and pirating. I didn't really need a magic 8 ball to tell me that was going to happen.

Tie Jake Paul up and surgically attach like medieval era maces to Mike Tysons hands and you'll get a PPV purchase from me ppl. Until then....STFU.

Edited September 1 by PhilosipherStoned
for gods sake don't firget to dip the maces in concentrated bubonic plague extract either...

[lupin_bebop]

Nah. Just have Mike ACTUALLY fight the kid. Meaning, let his hands fully go. 

[André Toulon]

On 8/11/2025 at 12:08 PM, André Toulon said:

Jake paul bought his way into the pro ranks...no real fight fan is paying for ppv boxing after that 

See....This the shit....

🤦🏿‍♂️

Who takes this shit seriously 

Why would you pay money for this....A troll and a dude willing to take a dive because Jake pays more than the Association. 

STOP IT.

[scoobdog]

Jake wouldn't be able to buy his way in if professional boxing hadn't fallen off like it has.  The problem is that people might pay to see a patsy take a dive for a troll, but they probably won't pay for a couple of dudes they don't know box a competitive match.

[André Toulon]

11 minutes ago, scoobdog said:

Jake wouldn't be able to buy his way in if professional boxing hadn't fallen off like it has.  The problem is that people might pay to see a patsy take a dive for a troll, but they probably won't pay for a couple of dudes they don't know box a competitive match.

Amd see, that's why this sucks....the people who buy this aren't fight fans... they're fans of trainwrecks. There os almost 0 integrity in sports as a whole now, which is why i cant be bothered to send any of my money that way...in support, bets, or otherwise 

[scoobdog]

12 minutes ago, André Toulon said:

Amd see, that's why this sucks....the people who buy this aren't fight fans... they're fans of trainwrecks. There os almost 0 integrity in sports as a whole now, which is why i cant be bothered to send any of my money that way...in support, bets, or otherwise 

I hear you.  However, I don't think there was ever such a thing as integrity in the sense you mean when it comes to professional sports.  We cared about the boxers of the '80s and '90s because we had promoters like Don King who knew how to sell.  Now, the promoter is a Dana White type who is organizing the same ridiculous stunts that worked for King 50 years ago.  Professional athletics on the whole is far closer to professional wrestling when it comes to presentation than anyone cares to admit.

[André Toulon]

39 minutes ago, scoobdog said:

I hear you.  However, I don't think there was ever such a thing as integrity in the sense you mean when it comes to professional sports.  We cared about the boxers of the '80s and '90s because we had promoters like Don King who knew how to sell.  Now, the promoter is a Dana White type who is organizing the same ridiculous stunts that worked for King 50 years ago.  Professional athletics on the whole is far closer to professional wrestling when it comes to presentation than anyone cares to admit.

I feel like you're overthinking it a bit.

But to agree, I aways knew it was about presentation. If you didn't watch sports, you really would have believed the cowboys were still a great team post Emmit era.

But they weren't...they were flashy and put out a cheerleader calendar every year.

In the realm of fighting, you didnt hear about Jones Jr V Toney and automatically go to "Toney just in this for the money because theres no way hes gonna win". Sure, there was theatrics, media hype, shit talk and such but even if you stance is it was already decided, it wasn't just plain obvious and you didnt feel like they were just playing in your face.

[scoobdog]

1 hour ago, André Toulon said:

I feel like you're overthinking it a bit.

But to agree, I aways knew it was about presentation. If you didn't watch sports, you really would have believed the cowboys were still a great team post Emmit era.

But they weren't...they were flashy and put out a cheerleader calendar every year.

In the realm of fighting, you didnt hear about Jones Jr V Toney and automatically go to "Toney just in this for the money because theres no way hes gonna win". Sure, there was theatrics, media hype, shit talk and such but even if you stance is it was already decided, it wasn't just plain obvious and you didnt feel like they were just playing in your face.

I mean, yeah.  Jake is obviously not a real boxer, he’s a s m influencer cosplaying as a boxer, and that’s extreme by any metric.  It goes to show how irrelevant boxing has become at the highest levels.

That being said, it’s not really overthinking to compare the a criticism Jake gets to what Floyd Mayweather was getting toward the end.  The two aren’t remotely comparable in quality and skill as fighters, but the subtext from fans and pundits has been much the same.  The apathy towards Mayweather’s fights toward the end of his career were palpable, very much like Paul’s fights now.  It really comes down to whether you believe that Jake is the catalyst for the general audience losing respect for the sport or whether you believe he’s just a very obvious symptom of a slow decline in that respect.

[André Toulon]

People who don't like Floyd as a fighter dont understand fighting. Hes a tactical fighter, and thats not always exciting because people want knockout, but knockouts in his weight class largely comes from fighters who cant protect themselves.

Thats why pacman could never put him away...simply didnt have the power to knock out someone who wasn't getting hit often.

Know who else was technical....Ali...but the difference is he put on a show, and he had knockout power...he was truly a phenom.

Now coming off heavies like Mike and Foreman, and Buster to the fat, dadbod losers we have now like Ngonnuu (i cant spell that shit) and Tyson Fury (i honestly cant even think of any current heavies rn but i check the rankings often and they are mostly just chuds)...I just looks like its no longer about athleticism and who can hit the hardest first.

Edited September 23 by André Toulon

[André Toulon]

Oh, and on Dana White, it worth mentioning UFC and other MMA brands have grossly overshadowed the WBA and while you'd be better off watching international leagues, Dana has the American ticket on lock and much like Vince, he controls the narrative of who's hot and who's not....which just doesn't sit well with me, but definitely sells seats and archaically, PPV....but paid streams is really no different so 🤷🏿‍♂️

[scoobdog]

19 hours ago, André Toulon said:

People who don't like Floyd as a fighter dont understand fighting. Hes a tactical fighter, and thats not always exciting because people want knockout, but knockouts in his weight class largely comes from fighters who cant protect themselves.

Thats why pacman could never put him away...simply didnt have the power to knock out someone who wasn't getting hit often.

Know who else was technical....Ali...but the difference is he put on a show, and he had knockout power...he was truly a phenom.

Now coming off heavies like Mike and Foreman, and Buster to the fat, dadbod losers we have now like Ngonnuu (i cant spell that shit) and Tyson Fury (i honestly cant even think of any current heavies rn but i check the rankings often and they are mostly just chuds)...I just looks like its no longer about athleticism and who can hit the hardest first.

Beautifully said.

19 hours ago, André Toulon said:

Oh, and on Dana White, it worth mentioning UFC and other MMA brands have grossly overshadowed the WBA and while you'd be better off watching international leagues, Dana has the American ticket on lock and much like Vince, he controls the narrative of who's hot and who's not....which just doesn't sit well with me, but definitely sells seats and archaically, PPV....but paid streams is really no different so 🤷🏿‍♂️

As it shouldn't sit well.  The seats being filled are not with die-hard fans.