On the morning of June 2, at the "5VS5" boxing team competition held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Chinese heavyweight boxer Zhang Zhilei knocked out former WBC heavyweight world boxer Wilder of the United States in the fifth round. For the 41-year-old Zhang Zhilei, this is an important fight in his career, and it is also a very historic fight for the Chinese boxing industry. This is the first professional boxing PPV (family pay-per-game) match that is truly in line with the world.
After months of negotiations, three days before the match, Zhang Zhilei and the Chinese professional boxing company M23 reached an agreement with the Saudi organizers on the rights of the live broadcast. In the end, the early bird price of the game in Chinese mainland was set at 21.9 yuan, and if purchased after the start of the game, it was 69.9 yuan, which is much lower than the $21.99 price requested by the Saudi organizers.
In an interview with the Beijing News, Lu Xiaolong, the founder of M23, said that the negotiation process with the Saudi side for live broadcast rights was very difficult and even humiliating, and the other party was not optimistic about China's paid copyright market. "If the Chinese boxing match paid viewing market is still a desert, I hope this match can become the first flower to bloom in this desert." Lu hopes to bring some new inspiration to the Chinese boxing industry through this match, and also make international rights owners re-examine the consumption potential of boxing PPV matches in the Chinese market.
Chinese heavyweight fighter Zhang Zhilei. Courtesy of M23
Three days before the start of the competition, Chinese mainland won the copyright
On May 30, the M23 and Zhang Zhilei team announced that they had obtained the live broadcast rights of the match with Wild in Chinese mainland, less than 3 days before the start of the match. For Chinese boxing, this is the first professional boxing PPV event that is truly in line with the world. The so-called PPV match, which means that the family pays for a single game, also represents the influence and appeal of professional fighters, and top professional fighters can get a lot of income through PPV sharing.
Unlike many other professional sports, the pay-to-watch market for professional boxing is very mature, and overseas PPV prices have remained high. In addition to Zhang Zhilei vs. Wilder, the "5vs5" boxing team event also included the WBA Featherweight Championship bout between Ray Ford and Nick Ball, and the WBC Lightweight Championship bout between Will Hutchinson and Craig Richards. On overseas streaming platforms, the "5VS5" match is priced at $21.99.
The price was the biggest point of disagreement between the Chinese team and the organizer, SELA in Saudi Arabia, during the copyright negotiations. The Saudis insisted that the Chinese sell at a global price of $21.99, a price that is unlikely to be acceptable to the current domestic sports market and ordinary consumers.
Such tug-of-war negotiations lasted for four months. With three days to go, the Chinese team finally persuaded the Saudi organizers to agree to sell the race in Chinese mainland for an early bird ticket of RMB 21.9 and an in-game ticket price of RMB 69.9. This price is the lowest price in 234 countries and regions in the world that can watch this game.
"This price is the greatest sincerity that the Chinese team can give, and the organizers also felt it, and finally reached an agreement on the price." In an interview with the Beijing News, M23 founder Lu Xiaolong said that the team's sincerity in wanting to broadcast in China moved the Saudi organizers. In the past few months, the Saudi side has done a lot of research on the Chinese market, and knows that China's payment market is in an underdeveloped stage and needs time to cultivate. But from a vertical perspective of the Chinese market, this price still sets a record high in pan-fighting events, after Zhang Weili's UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) single title fight was sold for 18 yuan.
Lu Xiaolong said that the price difference shows how big the gap between China's copyright market and the international market is.
Zhang Zhilei (right) hits Wild in the match. Courtesy of M23
In the last game, Zhang Zhilei thought about paying out of his own pocket
In February this year, M23 became Zhang's exclusive strategic partner in the Chinese market, responsible for his commercialization management in China. When competing with Joseph Parker at the beginning of the year, M23 and Zhang Zhilei's team had negotiated with the organizer Saudi Arabia on the live broadcast rights, and the price was still the biggest barrier.
Zhang Zhilei thought about paying out of his own pocket, and then relying on domestic platforms to pay for viewing tickets when broadcasting to smooth out the cost of copyright. Even so, the Saudis are still unwilling to budge. In the end, Zhang Zhilei and Parker's game has no genuine broadcast rights in Chinese mainland.
"The last negotiation was a complete failure, and this time the whistle took down the copyright, and the biggest problem in all the obstacles is always only one, that is, the pricing problem in Chinese mainland." Lu Xiaolong revealed that the Saudi organizers are very concerned about the pricing of PPV in China, and they do not understand why a game can be sold for more than 100 Hong Kong dollars even in Southeast Asia, and why it will drop to 21.9 yuan in Chinese mainland. In the eyes of the Saudis, the Chinese team's repeated price cuts are an affront to the quality and dignity of their game.
From the perspective of the Chinese team, Lu Xiaolong can ignore the copyright fee, but he is very concerned about the pricing of PPV, because the Chinese audience has not yet adapted to PPV pricing. If the price is set according to global standards, not only will no one look at it, but also worry that some people will say that Zhang Zhilei will "cut leeks" with a sky-high PPV, which will affect the image, "The Chinese team is very cautious and does not dare to set the price too high, which is such a tug-of-war, so that the negotiations have not been reached for a long time." ”
has been working alone for many years, Zhang Zhilei is very concerned about the copyright of the live broadcast, and he is also very concerned about how many people are paying attention to him. "The last game against Parker was not broadcast live in China, and he was very frustrated." Lu Xiaolong said that behind every successful professional boxer there is a huge market, behind Wild is the American market, behind Joyce and Joshua is the British market, behind Alvares is the entire Mexican market in the United States, which is usually the confidence for a professional boxer to be able to establish and develop in the world boxing arena.
Zhang Zhilei, who was born in 1983, is a late bloomer, and has only made a name for himself in the heavyweight division in recent years. After knocking out Wilder, Zhang Zhilei won an important fight in his career, and also continued to be the mainstream of the world boxing champion negotiator, "The world boxing championship belt has always been my dream, and I will never give up. ”
In Lu Xiaolong's view, it is not that Zhang Zhilei is not strong, but that the international boxing community thinks that the Chinese market value behind him is too low. "I believe that this is an eternal pain in his heart along the way." Lu Xiaolong said that it is not easy for Zhang Zhilei to reach the ranks of the world's top heavyweight fighters, and he is more concerned than ever about how many people are supporting him and how many people will buy his tickets.
At present, the right to speak in China's professional boxing copyright market is relatively weak, and it is difficult for Zhang Zhilei to get equal respect from British and American boxers and copyright owners. After talking with Wild's live broadcast copyright, Zhang Zhilei recorded a video to thank everyone, "The copyright of this competition was very difficult to get, and I also experienced a lot of setbacks, but I finally won it. Chinese boxing needs everyone's support, I hope you buy tickets rationally, our original intention is to develop this industry for a longer time, with your support, Chinese boxing can go further and longer. ”
Zhang Zhilei's game has the copyright of genuine live broadcast in China. Courtesy of M23
"The negotiation process was humiliating", but flowers have blossomed in the desert
Before Zhang Zhilei, professional boxers such as Meng Fanlong and Xu Can had also launched PPVs with varying prices in China during competitions, but they had little impact, and many people on the Internet still issued "Do you need to spend money to watch the game?" Questioning.
Talking about the status of China's copyright market in the world boxing arena, Lu Xiaolong said frankly that many people are accustomed to watching pirated live broadcasts for free or without the support of a mature paid market, and the market value is close to zero. Chinese boxing still has a long way to go if it wants to integrate into the global boxing market.
"People don't understand what the operating rules of this market are, and they don't understand that it is precisely because of such free or pirated copies that to a certain extent hinders the development of Chinese boxing, and also hinders outstanding Chinese boxers from expanding their territory in the world and being recognized by the international boxing market." However, Lu Xiaolong also said that more and more fans who truly love boxing are embracing and supporting the genuine version, and they know that every time they pay to watch it, they are supporting their favorite fighters and the industry.
When talking to foreign platforms about the introduction of copyright, Lu Xiaolong deeply felt the sting in his heart, because the outside world has a deep prejudice about China's boxing copyright market. He constantly explained to his foreign counterparts what kind of means will be used after the introduction of genuine versions, what kind of legal team will be used to prevent piracy, and what kind of technical means will be used to prevent users from high-priced areas from coming in to watch the live broadcast of events in low-priced areas, "This process is very humiliating, but the road must be taken step by step." It is believed that through this competition and the establishment of a relatively new cooperation concept and model with foreign countries, the Chinese boxing market will gradually integrate into the world, and the global market will know more about China, know that we have the ability to fight piracy, and are willing to pay for the boxing market. ”
At present, the data related to the live broadcast of this game has not been released to the public.
Lu Xiaolong said that it is no longer important to make money or lose money, but to bring something new and inspiration to the entire industry. He believes that as the domestic paid viewing market becomes deeper and deeper, there will be more and more people who support genuine versions, and more and more people will support the healthy development of the industry, and these pirated accounts will become more and more marketless, which is the only way for the industry to move towards the future.
"If the Chinese boxing match pay-to-watch market is still a desert, I hope this match can become the first flower to bloom in this desert. Everyone wants this market to get better and better, so no matter how difficult it is to develop, we are willing to do it. Lu Xiaolong said.
Sun Haiguang, chief reporter of the Beijing News
Edited by Xiao Wanli
Proofread by Zhao Lin