The Saudi Arabian boxing power broker wants to slash PPV prices on Riyadh Season events down to $20 in order to combat piracy.
If combat sports fans have any concerns about Saudi Arabia taking over the boxing landscape in the past couple of years, they’re keeping mostly quiet because power broker Turki Alalshikh keeps delivering the goods.
Alalshikh is the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, a government department in Saudi Arabia that regulates and promotes entertainment events inside and outside the country. They’re the ones bankrolling all the recent major heavyweight showdowns, with long-awaited but never realized bouts finally becoming a reality.
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 1 and 2, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, and Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua were all put together quickly and easily by Alalshikh, who uses his Saudi bankroll to bulldoze through any problems or disagreements he encounters.
Now, Alalshikh is about to make another move which will make combat sports fans happy: he’s going to slash the price of boxing pay-per-views.
“You mention the PPV, I think this is my next big fight,” he said in an interview with talkSPORT. “I dream of a PPV with a good price to make the fans happy and subscribe and get them to watch it legally. Usually when I see a high PPV [price], a lot of people go and watch the fight illegally, and this is not healthy for boxing and the platform.”
“What I will try to push is to have our Riyadh Season shows at less than £20 in England and less than $20 around the world. I would prefer to have one million fans subscribe and buy the PPV for $20 than less than 500,000.”
The price of pay-per-views has skyrocketed over the years. I remember a day long long ago in 2006 when UFC events cost $39.95. Nowadays UFC pay-per-views cost $79.99, and the upcoming Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga fight is $89.99.
“The people go around it illegally because the price is high,” Alalshikh said. “In the future, this will not build boxing. If I give the fans good fights at a good price, then I will increase the fanbase.”