TURKI Alalshikh has negotiated a new model for DAZN, insisting that all of his events, starting with David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde, must be streamed with no additional pay-per-view costs.
The rise of PPV fees in recent years has emerged as a sticking point for fans, often preventing boxing from reaching out to a far wider audience.
But now, with boxing power broker Alalshikh introducing a sizable change, it would appear that the sport is slowly inching towards a more desirable state of affairs.
“Great meeting with my brother Shay [Segev], CEO of DAZN,” Alalshikh wrote on X yesterday evening. “We have [a] big vision to grow boxing and decide: No More Pay-Per-View.
“Starting with our [Ring Magazine] show in November, all Riyadh Season [and] The Ring events will be free to DAZN subscribers.
“The PPV model has damaged boxing, and we will no longer support it. We are with the fight fans.”
This does not mean, of course, that streaming platform DAZN is likely to eliminate, or indeed reduce, its subscription price anytime soon.
Rather, Alalshikh has seemingly responded to heavy criticism that his last event, headlined by Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz, was placed behind a further paywall.
As a result, any PPV fee that had been planned for Benavidez vs Yarde, which takes place on November 22, has been promptly scuppered.
The two light-heavyweight operators will headline a stacked show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where three more world title offerings have been confirmed for the undercard.
But before that, another Riyadh Season event, this one topped by a heavyweight clash between Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte on August 16, will demand a PPV price of £15.99 in the UK.
DAZN’s only other scheduled PPV show, meanwhile, takes place this Saturday, when Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois collide for the undisputed heavyweight crown at Wembley Stadium, London.
That event, however, is promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, rather than Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season or Ring Magazine.
