madjack
06-05-2002, 03:03 AM
Fight smashes TV records
From our wire services
03may02
News Interactive
NEW YORK: Next month's heavyweight showdown between Britain's Lennox Lewis and ex-champion Mike Tyson will smash US pay-per-view records by costing $54.95 dollars and being available in 50 million homes.
Whether the June 8 spectacle can break the pay-per-view mark of 1.9 million purchases is the $100m question for telecasters Showtime and HBO, who have completed distribution deals for the bout.
HBO has a contract with world champion Lewis. Rival Showtime has a deal with Tyson, the controversial former champion whose ability to shock and amaze has driven past pay-per-view record presentations.
The World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation title fight in Memphis, Tennessee, will be the first jointly promoted and marketed by the US fight financiers. Without the special deal, there would be no Lewis-Tyson bout.
Tyson's second tussle with Evander Holyfield, the 1997 "Bite Fight" in which Tyson was disqualified for biting the champion's ears, set the US pay-per-view record of 1.9 million buys in 1997 and nearly $100m in revenue.
Tyson, the WBC's top-ranked challenger, fights have been six of the 10 top US pay-per-view events. No US event has cracked one million pay-per-view purchase mark since Lewis and Holyfield fought twice in 1999.
The Lewis-Tyson showdown will be available by satellite and cable in 50 million homes plus 2000 other US closed-circuit venues.
From our wire services
03may02
News Interactive
NEW YORK: Next month's heavyweight showdown between Britain's Lennox Lewis and ex-champion Mike Tyson will smash US pay-per-view records by costing $54.95 dollars and being available in 50 million homes.
Whether the June 8 spectacle can break the pay-per-view mark of 1.9 million purchases is the $100m question for telecasters Showtime and HBO, who have completed distribution deals for the bout.
HBO has a contract with world champion Lewis. Rival Showtime has a deal with Tyson, the controversial former champion whose ability to shock and amaze has driven past pay-per-view record presentations.
The World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation title fight in Memphis, Tennessee, will be the first jointly promoted and marketed by the US fight financiers. Without the special deal, there would be no Lewis-Tyson bout.
Tyson's second tussle with Evander Holyfield, the 1997 "Bite Fight" in which Tyson was disqualified for biting the champion's ears, set the US pay-per-view record of 1.9 million buys in 1997 and nearly $100m in revenue.
Tyson, the WBC's top-ranked challenger, fights have been six of the 10 top US pay-per-view events. No US event has cracked one million pay-per-view purchase mark since Lewis and Holyfield fought twice in 1999.
The Lewis-Tyson showdown will be available by satellite and cable in 50 million homes plus 2000 other US closed-circuit venues.