DAZN’s “Shameful” Act Could Cause Major Loss in Revenue for Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5 vs. 5 Card as Fans Rally to Cancel

What’s the number one enemy of the sport of boxing? No, it’s not the growing popularity of other forms of combat sports. Rather, it’s the people operating within the sport, trying to squeeze out every last penny from the fans! At least, that’s what it seems like after well-known and respected boxing journalist Dan Rafael shed light on the pay-per-view pricing for a recent event!

See, the thing is, tonight’s event in Saudi Arabia—the Matchroom-Queensberry 5 vs. 5 event is being streamed live by none other than the boxing broadcast juggernaut DAZN Boxing. And they are selling the PPV for the fight at drastically different prices in the US and the UK! Yet, it’s not the diverging prices that have fans up in arms, ready to throw the streaming service into the cancelation. So, what’s got everyone buzzing?

DAZN Boxing is overcharging its subscribers

Mere moments away from the fight, Dan Rafael hopped on X stating, “This is absurd. @DAZNBoxing is charging $69.99 to subscribers who buy the ppv on DAZN.” It’s worth mentioning that this prize tag for the event is limited to the viewers in the States, while fans in the UK can watch the fight at a low price of £21.99 on TNT Sports Box Office. 

So, Rafael wrote, “I realized it’s also available via normal linear TV ppv for $39.99. I canceled my DAZN order. Who the hell would pay $30 more for no reason for [the] same event[?] Shameful of DAZN toward subscribers.” Throughout its history, this streaming service has maintained differing prices between the UK and US markets. While market demand justifies some variance, Rafael’s recent observation of a $30 overcharge raises questions about fairness and transparency in pricing.

As the tweet started circulating, lo-and-behold, the boxing world came together to throw stones at the broadcast giant for what seemed like daylight theft. 

Matchroom-Queensberry 5 vs. 5 may be in trouble

Nobody wants to pay extra for what they can get for cheaper, and the same goes for boxing events too. So, discovering the tweet from Rafael, fans seem to have gone haywire as they bashed the broadcast giant. One user thanked Rafael for the tweet, suggesting he was about to buy DAZN’s subscription, but will now save some money because of him. 

Another user thought that people would still buy the subscription from DAZN because they were unaware of the cheaper alternative. What’s more, the user suggested boxing should be brought back to free TV to give the sport the popularity boost it once had. In fact, at one point, boxing was everything in the States—from children to adults on the streets—everyone knew who Joe Frazer, Muhammad Ali, Geroge Foremen, and other greats were. 

Someone else highlighted DAZN’s prices in the United Kingdom, claiming the PPV for the same event is £20.99 in the UK. However, the difference in those prices can be attributed to several factors, including interest in the sport and willingness to buy. 

The next user revealed that they were on the brink of deciding whether to buy the subscription, and Rafael’s tweet convinced him not to. Thankfully for the user, Rafael also gave him a much cheaper alternative. 

One user seemed absolutely done with the streaming platform, as the user seems to have denounced them through the tweet! The potential good news is, that Amazon Prime and Netflix may be able to bring down those prices to a much more competitive level. 

It won’t be easy for DAZN Boxing to explain their decision to overcharge their pay-per-view subscribers for the event, but it would be interesting to see what they have to say. As of the time of writing, there hasn’t been an official response. What do you think about their prices?