Boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, pose for photos after a news conference, Wednesday, March 11, 2015, in Los Angeles. AP
With the cost of watching the fight of the century between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. live or in real-time going through the roof, lawmakers are asking local officials to make sure that the Filipino masses get the chance to see the bout as it unfolds for free.
Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said local governments should take the lead in arranging the showing of the fight to allow the most number of their constituents to watch it for free on May 3.
“This is a small price to pay for the (local governments) but a big thing for those who cannot afford it,” Sotto said in a text message Sunday.
READ: Priciest Mayweather-Pacquiao ticket worth P2.8M
Parañaque Representative Gustavo Tambunting said the pay-per-view (PPV) cost should not be an issue considering that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event that has long been anticipated by the Filipinos, both boxing and nonboxing enthusiasts.
“(Local governments) should show it for free in all public plazas because Pacquiao fights give Filipinos inspiration. Even the crime rate is at its lowest during a Pacquiao fight. This is even bigger than the Ali-Frazier Thrilla in Manila (in 1975),” Tambunting said.
READ: From Frazier and Ali to Manny Pacquiao
Quezon City Representative Winston Castelo proposed that the government regulate the prices charged by cable providers, theater operators and sports bar owners to ensure that they will not charge unreasonable rates for the fight.
“[The cost should be regulated] so as not to [make it] exorbitant and discriminatory and [make sure the poor are not denied the chance to see] this bout that would break all boxing records,” Castelo said.
Deal with Solar
Buhay Representative Lito Atienza said local governments should start assessing how many sports and civic centers they could use for the event and haggle for special discounts with Solar Entertainment Corp., which holds the exclusive rights to air Pacuiao’s fights in the Philippines.
“That’s how we did it before and I am sure it can be worked out,” said Atienza, a former Manila mayor.
The lawmaker’s party-list group counts the Tieng family, who controls Solar, as one of its backers.
Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez said a regular public gymnasium could accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 people and a surge of Pacquiao fans would create a nightmare scenario.
Theater ticket prices
The country’s biggest theater chain operator, SM, is charging between P800 (regular cinemas) and P1,200 (IMAX) per ticket for the fight in its Metro Manila branches. Its ticket costs P600 in theaters outside Metro Manila. In Pacquiao’s most recent fight, the Macau bout with Chris Algieri in November last year, theater tickets were sold for as low as P400.
Skycable is charging its PPV subscribers P2,500, while Cignal is offering a discounted price of P2,000 for a limited period.
Another option is watching the fight through your mobile phones, with Smart offering its subscribers free live streaming of the event for P499, which is more than the P481 minimum daily wage of workers in Metro Manila.
READ: Pacquiao-Mayweather on PPV costs $99, most expensive in history
Atienza said watching the fight live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was out of the question for most Filipinos, including lawmakers who used to get free tickets from the Saranggani representative in his previous fights, because of the staggering ticket prices.
Floyd makes a killing
Atienza claimed that Mayweather’s group controlled 90 percent of the tickets as part of Pacquiao’s concessions just to get the fight going.
“His group has made a killing in ticket sales, as everything was sold out just minutes after the announcement of the fight’s confirmation was made,” he said.
Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson said he expected the $10,000 ringside or floor seats to go up to at least $100,000 as fight day drew near.
Singson, Pacquiao’s confidant, claimed that the boxing idol had not given free tickets to his Congress peers this time.
He said that if lawmakers wanted to watch the fight, they would have to buy the tickets themselves, with the cheapest tickets, at $1,500, now being sold at $10,000 each on the black market.
Free television
Pacquiao fans can watch the fight on free television, care of three broadcast stations—ABS-CBN, GMA and ABC5—which promised to air it on a “slightly delayed basis.” Based on experience, however, that will be at least an hour after the actual fight.
READ: ABS-CBN, GMA, TV 5, Solar to broadcast Pacquiao-Mayweather fight
Benitez said the government had no power to compel the TV stations to show the fight closer to real time because they needed to recover the price they had paid to broadcast the fight.
Atienza said most people could listen to match updates on the radio but this would not be the same thing. “It will be a memorable event for most people, especially if they watch it live like the rest of those watching PPV in theaters and their homes. Imagine the entire Philippines glued to their screen all at the same time,” he said.
But for Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, it was no big deal if he’d see the match on delayed telecast as long it was free. “I don’t know about them but l can wait for a few minutes for the free show,” Belmonte said.
For more updates on Pacquiao-Mayweather “Fight of the Century,” visit The Pacquiao Files.