The big fight was also a big hit with illegal streamers.
Getty ImagesApparently, watching the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight was a big draw on the illegal streaming circuit, too.
An estimated 2.9 million people on saw the undefeated boxing champion Mayweather beat McGregor, the UFC mixed martial arts champion, on 239 illegal streams on Saturday, according to digital security platform Irdeto.
“This is one of the most pirated, if not the most pirated boxing matches we have ever seen,” Mark Mulready, an Irdeto vice president of cyber services, said in a statement Monday. By comparison, there were about 200,000 viewers watching on about 19 pirated streams when boxer Anthony Joshua took the world heavyweight title from Wladimir Klitschko in April, Irdeto said.
The company didn’t have data about how many illegal streams had been created for Mayweather’s fight with fellow boxing champ Manny Pacquiao in 2015. At the time, Twitter’s livestreaming service Periscope emerged as the winner of that bout, drawing people who wanted to watch the fight but didn’t want to pay the $100 pay-per-view fee.
While there were no official titles on the line, the Mayweather-McGregor spectacle from Las Vegas on Saturday was viewed as a first of its kind for combat sports and seen as one of the biggest sporting events of the year. It had started as a war of words between the two men on social media that ultimately convinced Mayweather, who is undefeated, to return from retirement.
A screenshot of the Mayweather-McGregor fight that apparently aired illegally on Facebook.
Screenshot provided by IrdetoSaturday’s fight was apparently seen without permission on various social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Periscope, who appeared to be shutting down streams as they popped up on their respective sites. Other streams also popped up on more typical pirate-streaming websites and on illicit streaming devices that had ads appearing on e-commerce sites including Amazon, eBay and Alibaba.
The companies say they will take action if content violates their policies.
It took 10 rounds, but the heavily favored Mayweather beat McGregor by a technical knockout in the battle between the two combat sports giants that was one of the most-hyped fights in years.
The illegal streaming of the fight costing that $100 for a watch on Showtime pay-per-view in the US, probably won’t hurt either fighter’s bank accounts. Mayweather and McGregor reportedly earned $100 million and $30 million, respectively, despite the fact that the fight ultimately didn’t sell out.
Showtime is owned by CBS, which also owns CNET. The network didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here’s your place for the lighter side of tech.
Batteries Not Included: The CNET team shares experiences that remind us why tech stuff is cool.
