GMA-7's delayed telecast of the IBO light-welterweight world title boxing match between home-grown hero Manny Pacquiao and Briton Ricky Hatton captured a staggering 41.9 percent of viewers in the Philippines.

Rival network ABS-CBN counter-programmed with the Philippine TV premiere of Shake, Rattle & Roll 9 and One More Chance – which rated second and third with 19.4 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively.

Gabriel Buluran, general manager of Taylor Nelson Sofres Philippines' TAM draws says that while Pacquiao's past five fights vary in levels reached, they are all definitely ratings busters.

"I think it has a lot to do with the popularity of Pacquiao and the amount of publicity his fights generate," says Buluran. "His popularity is snowballing and given the show he gave the fans in the last fight, it is quite certain that his next fight would be much anticipated and watched."

"I even think the Mayweather fight would attract attention given the Filipino fight fans would want to see how good Pacquiao's possible next opponent really is."

Continues Buluran, "Having said that, the ratings outcome in boxing is really difficult to call. As you can see from the charts, the last fight got the highest ratings at its peak but in total the ratings of the programme are lower than some of the previous fights. The number of rounds, the performance of the undercards and the main fighters all affect the total programme ratings. As expected, events like this affect total TV viewing. Other channels benefit from such high ratings. Given the length of commercial breaks during boxing matches, a lot of switching and surfing may occur in between rounds."

Stateside, meanwhile, USA Today reported that the pay-per-view (PPV) sales for the Pacquiao-Hatton fight could reach 2 million buys, priced at around US$50 each.

HBO spokesperson told Television Asia Plus that PPV totals had not yet been tabulated, but if reports prove true this would be the second highest total (non-heavyweight fight) PPV buys ever, worth around $100 million. HBO would be entitled to half of that, with the victor earning 52 percent and the loser 48 percent of the other $50 million.

Pacquiao is estimated to have earned approx US$2 million per minute for the fight, which saw Hatton knocked out in only the second round.

Oscar de la Hoya versus Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2007 attracted 2.4 million buys, equalling US$134 million in revenues. Last year's Pacquiao vs De la Hoya fight got 1.25 million PPV buys; in 2007 Hatton vs Mayweather earned 915,000 buys.

HBO boxing clever on male-skewed Max

Elsewhere in the region, boxing is proving a ratings winner on HBO Asia's recently refreshed MAX, and is set to become an even more integral part of the male-skewed channel's schedule.

"Since HBO Boxing was introduced on 16 April on MAX, the events are proving very popular with viewers. The premiere fight, which was a classic match between Shane Mosley and Wilfredo Rivera, reached a peak of 52,000 viewers in Malaysia," said Robert Lyons, senior vice president programming and presentation at HBO Asia.

7 May at 11pm, MAX featured a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Emmanuel Lucero, but Lyons says it's too soon to provide ratings for that particular match.

Lyons says HBO Asia currently airs HBO World Boxing Championship matches every Thursday at 11pm (SIN) on MAX, a refresh of CINEMAX, as part of injecting fresh content on the male-skewed channel.

"HBO Asia will continue to promote boxing on MAX and is committed to bringing the very best recent and classic boxing events from around the globe, including Boxing Specials featuring Oscar award winning documentary When We Were Kings," says Lyons.

HBO World Boxing: Mosley vs Rivera premiered with 23,000 viewers on 17 April 2009, midnight. It doubled the rating of a typical early morning daypart, with an average rating of 39,000 in the first hour, peaking at 52,000 viewers. 86 percent of viewers were men, compared to 62 percent typically. Young viewers, mainly students, aged 4-24 constituted 58 percent of the viewers, up from the typical 23 percent.

(Source: AGB Nielsen Media Research)

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