Who’ll be Celebrating? MP? ABS? Or Both?
Bleacher Talk
July 2, 2006
Who’ll be Celebrating? MP? ABS? Or Both?
At around noon today, Team Pacquiao will be having a grand celebration most likely at a five-star hotel for Manny Pacquiao’s knock-out win over Oscar Larios. Pacquiao’s closest aides, friends, business partners and media men will surely be there to join local boxing’s biggest party of the year.
For Pacquiao, it’s going to be a double celebration. Not only will he rejoice in winning over Larios. More importantly, he’ll be celebrating his successful project as a boxing promoter, being head and owner of MP Promotions, the boxing promotions outfit that he established this year. Whatever way you look at it, the boxer and/or promoter is laughing is way to the bank with bottom line figures that has all of us boxing fans in awe. The rich really do get richer, don’t they?
With a cool $1 million as fight purse, another $4 million going to MP Promotions for the staging of the fight card, plus a still undetermined amount from shares from pay-per-view and TV commercials, Pacquiao is not just your “usual” boxer anymore.
But while the Pacman and the rest of Team Pacquiao whoop it up and jump for joy, I think there’s another important question that must be answered. Did ABS-CBN come out with a happy bottom line ending from this joint project? I ask this since the bottom line success of “Mano A Mano” is going to be a crucial factor to determine if the Philippines is indeed ready to stage big money boxing events that are identified with Las Vegas, and to a smaller extent Japan, for the Asian scene.
ABS-CBN reportedly gave MP Promotions a cool $4 million dollars as their part of the deal. That’s 212 million pesos at a rate of P53 to a dollar. This gave the Lopez-owned firm the rights to produce the TV coverage and to air or distribute this coverage worldwide. The tough challenge on ABS-CBN’s part is how to come up with the funds to cover the $4M and the operational expenses that they will incur for the TV production. Any other income over this would mean ear-to-ear smiles for ABS bigwigs.
And so while Team Pacquiao will be drowned with all the San Miguel beer they can drink courtesy of Danding Cojuangco, will the ABS-CBN executives be drinking along with Pacquiao, or will they be shaking their heads?
ABS-CBN expects to earn from three basic sources. The most obvious source of income will be from the tons of TV commercials which we’ll all have to deal with if we watch the delayed telecast of the fight over ABS-CBN today. So don’t be surprised if the airtime for TV commercials will be a lot longer than the fight itself. The network has 212 million pesos to cover and more. I heard through the grapevine that the rate for a 30-second TV commercial for this coverage is around P250,000 per spot. So if you see a San Miguel commercial (I’m assuming there’s at least one), that’s P250 K already!
Another source of income that is also common in big fights is through the pay-per-view route. It’s not a common sight in the Philippine TV industry, but is a norm in the United States and Europe. Pay-per-view literally means people can’t watch the fight on their TV’s unless they pay for it. ABS-CBN will be beaming the fight to the U.S. where they hope boxing fans and Pinoys will be paying to watch the fight. I’m not too sure if the fight will also be beamed to Mexico, but that would also be a big help. The cost of “buying” the Mano A Mano fights is $39.95 through DirecTV.
That’s where you should consider yourself lucky. Due to the absence of a pay-per-view set-up in the country, we get to watch the fights for free even if it comes with a one or two-hour delay.
Another pay-per-view venue will be the live airing of the fights in selected movie theaters in the Philippines. The chain of SM cinemas nationwide will be airing the fights live (as in real time) and it will cost P400 per head to get inside. So if you happen to drop by the SM City today, you might want to ask the ticket booth attendants on the fourth floor how many people bought tickets to watch the fights, and how many theaters were needed to accommodate everyone. For reference, all their theaters as well as those of the SM Megamall, SM City North EDSA and Rockwell Mall in Manila were fully booked for the second Pacquiao-Morales fight earlier in the year.
Another common practice that ABS-CBN is dealing with is that that the boxing partner-promoter of boxing events also gets a share from pay-per-view and TV commercials. That’s why MP Promotions is doubly happy today. They stand to earn a cut from every PPV buy and TV commercial that ABS-CBN gets.
And last but not least, and also controversial, ABS-CBN also stands to generate income from ticket sales at the Araneta Coliseum. According to ticketnet, cost of tickets are P31,680 at ringside, P21,120 for lower box, P7,920 for Upper Box A and P2,640 for Upper Box B. Many have complained that these are too expensive, but there’s only one way to find out. While watching the fight on TV, keep an eye on the audience section of the Big Dome. Is it filled? Are there many empty seats? TF Sports editor Manny Villaruel will be there to watch the fight and I’ll be texting him for a “crowd update.” If I were a permanent Manila resident, I would still opt to watch the fight on TV since the ticket cost is way out of my budget. (Any more press passes for us at Freeman Sir Wakee?)
I wouldn’t be surprised if MP Promotions is also entitled to a share of ticket sales. If they’re entitled to a cut from pay-per-view and TV commercials, I’m sure ticket sales is also there on the same page. The Games and Amusements Board is also entitled to around 3% of ticket sales.
And the bottom line? Did ABS-CBN’s sales team generate the funds needed to cover for all these? Did the pay-per-view network bring in all those “buys” both in the U.S. and at the local movie theaters? How many advertisers stepped up to sponsor the local coverage or simply buy TV spots? Was the Big Dome filled to the rafters with paying fans?
And so while Team Pacquiao is celebrating, will their media partner ABS-CBN be doing the same?
*** Time-out: Happy birthday to Pamela Uy-Cruz out there in Dallas, Texas. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com or http://bleachertalk.blogspot.com.
July 2, 2006
Who’ll be Celebrating? MP? ABS? Or Both?
At around noon today, Team Pacquiao will be having a grand celebration most likely at a five-star hotel for Manny Pacquiao’s knock-out win over Oscar Larios. Pacquiao’s closest aides, friends, business partners and media men will surely be there to join local boxing’s biggest party of the year.
For Pacquiao, it’s going to be a double celebration. Not only will he rejoice in winning over Larios. More importantly, he’ll be celebrating his successful project as a boxing promoter, being head and owner of MP Promotions, the boxing promotions outfit that he established this year. Whatever way you look at it, the boxer and/or promoter is laughing is way to the bank with bottom line figures that has all of us boxing fans in awe. The rich really do get richer, don’t they?
With a cool $1 million as fight purse, another $4 million going to MP Promotions for the staging of the fight card, plus a still undetermined amount from shares from pay-per-view and TV commercials, Pacquiao is not just your “usual” boxer anymore.
But while the Pacman and the rest of Team Pacquiao whoop it up and jump for joy, I think there’s another important question that must be answered. Did ABS-CBN come out with a happy bottom line ending from this joint project? I ask this since the bottom line success of “Mano A Mano” is going to be a crucial factor to determine if the Philippines is indeed ready to stage big money boxing events that are identified with Las Vegas, and to a smaller extent Japan, for the Asian scene.
ABS-CBN reportedly gave MP Promotions a cool $4 million dollars as their part of the deal. That’s 212 million pesos at a rate of P53 to a dollar. This gave the Lopez-owned firm the rights to produce the TV coverage and to air or distribute this coverage worldwide. The tough challenge on ABS-CBN’s part is how to come up with the funds to cover the $4M and the operational expenses that they will incur for the TV production. Any other income over this would mean ear-to-ear smiles for ABS bigwigs.
And so while Team Pacquiao will be drowned with all the San Miguel beer they can drink courtesy of Danding Cojuangco, will the ABS-CBN executives be drinking along with Pacquiao, or will they be shaking their heads?
ABS-CBN expects to earn from three basic sources. The most obvious source of income will be from the tons of TV commercials which we’ll all have to deal with if we watch the delayed telecast of the fight over ABS-CBN today. So don’t be surprised if the airtime for TV commercials will be a lot longer than the fight itself. The network has 212 million pesos to cover and more. I heard through the grapevine that the rate for a 30-second TV commercial for this coverage is around P250,000 per spot. So if you see a San Miguel commercial (I’m assuming there’s at least one), that’s P250 K already!
Another source of income that is also common in big fights is through the pay-per-view route. It’s not a common sight in the Philippine TV industry, but is a norm in the United States and Europe. Pay-per-view literally means people can’t watch the fight on their TV’s unless they pay for it. ABS-CBN will be beaming the fight to the U.S. where they hope boxing fans and Pinoys will be paying to watch the fight. I’m not too sure if the fight will also be beamed to Mexico, but that would also be a big help. The cost of “buying” the Mano A Mano fights is $39.95 through DirecTV.
That’s where you should consider yourself lucky. Due to the absence of a pay-per-view set-up in the country, we get to watch the fights for free even if it comes with a one or two-hour delay.
Another pay-per-view venue will be the live airing of the fights in selected movie theaters in the Philippines. The chain of SM cinemas nationwide will be airing the fights live (as in real time) and it will cost P400 per head to get inside. So if you happen to drop by the SM City today, you might want to ask the ticket booth attendants on the fourth floor how many people bought tickets to watch the fights, and how many theaters were needed to accommodate everyone. For reference, all their theaters as well as those of the SM Megamall, SM City North EDSA and Rockwell Mall in Manila were fully booked for the second Pacquiao-Morales fight earlier in the year.
Another common practice that ABS-CBN is dealing with is that that the boxing partner-promoter of boxing events also gets a share from pay-per-view and TV commercials. That’s why MP Promotions is doubly happy today. They stand to earn a cut from every PPV buy and TV commercial that ABS-CBN gets.
And last but not least, and also controversial, ABS-CBN also stands to generate income from ticket sales at the Araneta Coliseum. According to ticketnet, cost of tickets are P31,680 at ringside, P21,120 for lower box, P7,920 for Upper Box A and P2,640 for Upper Box B. Many have complained that these are too expensive, but there’s only one way to find out. While watching the fight on TV, keep an eye on the audience section of the Big Dome. Is it filled? Are there many empty seats? TF Sports editor Manny Villaruel will be there to watch the fight and I’ll be texting him for a “crowd update.” If I were a permanent Manila resident, I would still opt to watch the fight on TV since the ticket cost is way out of my budget. (Any more press passes for us at Freeman Sir Wakee?)
I wouldn’t be surprised if MP Promotions is also entitled to a share of ticket sales. If they’re entitled to a cut from pay-per-view and TV commercials, I’m sure ticket sales is also there on the same page. The Games and Amusements Board is also entitled to around 3% of ticket sales.
And the bottom line? Did ABS-CBN’s sales team generate the funds needed to cover for all these? Did the pay-per-view network bring in all those “buys” both in the U.S. and at the local movie theaters? How many advertisers stepped up to sponsor the local coverage or simply buy TV spots? Was the Big Dome filled to the rafters with paying fans?
And so while Team Pacquiao is celebrating, will their media partner ABS-CBN be doing the same?
*** Time-out: Happy birthday to Pamela Uy-Cruz out there in Dallas, Texas. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com or http://bleachertalk.blogspot.com.
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