The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Floyd Mayweather Showtime HBO

HBO & Showtime force Mayweather v Pacquiao footage off Twitter’s Periscope

Author

By John Glenday, Reporter

May 5, 2015 | 2 min read

Pay TV broadcasters have reportedly forced Twitter’s Periscope to pull footage of a weekend fight between boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao amidst concerns that many fans were able to watch the action live for free.

Both broadcasters had charged a record $89.95 to customers wishing to view the action in standard definition and $99.95 to view in HD, prompting some to seek alternative avenues to see the fight, according to BBC News.

HBO is no fan of Twitter’s newest acquisition, complaining bitterly that Periscope acts as a platform for ‘mass copyright infringement’ after the system was used to rebroadcast the opening episode in the latest series of Game of Thrones.

The technology lets fans stream footage from their smartphones, recording the TV as it broadcasts, meaning anyone can view the content in near real-time.

Though low quality there are no developer tools to remove it as it happens, leaving broadcasters to file individual take-down requests which can take longer to process, meaning people had a free ride to watch the event on the night without fear of being cut off.

A Twitter spokesperson said: “Broadcasting content that is protected by copyright is a clear violation of our content policy"

"We received 66 reports from rights holders and took action against 30 broadcasts in response to the reports. The remaining broadcasts had already ended and were no longer available. We were able to respond within minutes."

The long-anticipated showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao took place on Sunday morning (3 May) in the UK.

Floyd Mayweather Showtime HBO

More from Floyd Mayweather

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +