Boxing
The History Of PPV Boxing Costs In The UK Ahead Of Conor Benn’s Fight With Chris Eubank Jr
Kieran Lynch is a sports writer specialising in football and Formula One. He is a sports journalism graduate of Leeds Trinity University and completed a Press Association NCTJ course in Newcastle. He previously worked as a news reporter for the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk and spent five years as a sports writer at the MailOnline.
Get to know Kieran Lynch betterPublished25 Apr 2025
It has been 29 years since pay-per-view was introduced in the UK for the heavyweight match between Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson, and here, SportsCasting takes a look at the history of PPV prices and how much it has cost fans to watch boxing throughout the sport’s history.
The cost of watching major fights has risen dramatically, reflecting the sport’s commercial growth and shift towards models.
That rematch between Bruno and Tyson in 1996 cost boxing fans as little as £9.95 if booked in advance, or £14.95 if ordered on the day of the broadcast.
The fight which saw Tyson stop Bruno inside three rounds in Las Vegas, Nevada, drew 660,000 buys on Sky Box Office.
Fast forward to 2025, and that initial price would not even cover half of a boxing PPV in the UK. The highly-anticipated fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn on April 26, is priced at £19.95 regardless of whether you stream the fight on DAZN or watch live on Sky Box Office.
However, there was a time when the cost of watching boxing in the UK cost nothing more than the TV licence fee.
Below, we look at the history of PPV boxing prices in the UK, highlighting key fights and PPV buys across different eras in the sport’s history.
What Is Pay-Per-View?
Pay-Per-View is a broadcasting format where fans pay a one-time fee to watch exclusive live events.
PPV has become important in the history of boxing. Fans are paying growing prices to watch their favourite boxers on TV or streaming platforms.
In boxing, PPV is a financial powerhouse and a huge consideration when it comes to drawing up contracts for fights. This is because they generate massive revenue to cover hefty fighter purses and production costs.
It offers fans access to , can’t-miss fights and elevates marquee matchups in boxing.
PPV events are also prominent in the UFC and professional wrestling – although the WWE now refers to PPV’s as live events and show their major shows on Netflix and previously the WWE Network.
How Much Did Boxing Cost Before PPV?
Before the days when boxing fans had to consider the prices of PPV in the UK, the early history of television saw the sport as a cornerstone of free-to-air broadcasting, and was accessible to anyone with a TV.
The BBC played a pioneering role and aired the UK’s first televised boxing match, Eric Boon vs Arthur Danahar, in 1939.
Funded by the TV licence fee – £6 for black-and-white TVs and £10 for colour by the late 1960s – boxing was effectively free for viewers.
Some high-profile fights, like Muhammad Ali vs Henry Cooper II in 1966, were shown on closed-circuit television in cinemas. An estimated 40,000 viewers paid for access – an early hint at later models.
The 1970s saw boxing achieve massive viewership on free-to-air channels. Key fights at the time included:
Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier (1971, BBC One, “Fight of the Century”): Drew 27.5 million viewers.
Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman (1974, BBC One, “Rumble in the Jungle”): Attracted 26 million viewers
In 1984, ITV also began showing boxing regularly with ‘The Big Fight Live’. One notable fight shown by ITV was Frank Bruno’s heavyweight title fight with Mike Tyson in 1989.
This attracted 14.3 million viewers with an additional four million for the evening rebroadcast.
Chris Eubank Sr’s early professional fights, promoted by Barry Hearn, were often shown on ‘The Big Fight Live’. Main events on the program reportedly attracted around 10-15 million viewers though there are no official numbers.
“HE’S WON THE TITLE BACK AT THIRTY-TWO!!!” Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman 1080p 60fps BBC Commentary https://t.co/9r58TbmQLq pic.twitter.com/pgsy9UTGlL
— VINTAGE BOXING™️ (@VBoxingtm) February 13, 2024
When Did PPV Boxing Start in the UK?
The 1990s marked a turning point as boxing shifted to models, driven by Sky Sports and the introduction of PPV.
ITV lost its rights for fights promoted by Barry Hearn and Frank Warren in the middle of the decade to Sky Sports – who became a subscription channel in 1991.
The first UK PPV event, Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II in 1996, set the stage for a new era of boxing consumption.
The PPV model, while lucrative, began to exclude some casual fans, as costs layered on top of Sky Sports subscriptions.
Key fights from the early years of boxing on Sky Box Office include:
Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II (1996, Sky Box Office): £9.95–£14.95, 660,000 buys.
Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II (1997, Sky Box Office): £9.95–£14.95, 550,000 buys.
Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson (2002, Sky Box Office): £14.95, 750,000 buys.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton (2007, Sky Box Office): £14.95, 1.15 million buys.
What Are the Biggest PPV Boxing Fights in UK History?
From the 2000s, PPV became the dominant model for major fights with prices climbing up to as much as £26.95 in recent years.
Sky Sports Box Office and BT Sports (later TNT Sports) led the market. They capitalised on huge profile bouts featuring UK stars including Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
In the United Kingdom, the most watched PPV fight ever is Joshua’s victory over Joseph Parker in 2018 at 1.832 million buys.
Joshua is No 2 and 3 in this list also for his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 (1.631 million) and his rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 (1.575 million).
However, these numbers don’t go anywhere near the amount of people who watched ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’ or the ‘Fight of the Century’ during the 1970s.
Notable high-drawing PPV fights include:
Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye (2011, Sky Box Office): £14.99–£19.99, 1.197 million buys.
Carl Froch vs. George Groves II (2014, Sky Box Office): £14.95–£16.95, 900,000 buys.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (2015, Sky Box Office): £19.95–£24.95, 942,000 buys.
Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko (2017, Sky Box Office): £19.95, 1.631 million buys.
David Haye vs. Tony Bellew (2017, Sky Box Office): £19.95, 1.5 million buys.
Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker (2018, Sky Box Office): £19.95, 1.8 million buys.
Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. II (2019, Sky Box Office): £24.95, 1.575 million buys.
Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte (2022, BT Sport Box Office): £24.95, 1 million buys.
Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 (2022, Sky Box Office): £26.95, 1.2 million buys.
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk (2024, Sky Box Office/TNT Sports Box Office): £24.95–£26.95, 1.5 million buys.
How Has Streaming Changed Boxing Costs in the UK?
The 2010s and 2020s introduced streaming platforms like DAZN and TNT Sports’ discovery+, offering subscription-based access and occasional PPV events.
DAZN’s subscription ranges in price, with an annual subscription currently costing £119.99 in the UK, or a monthly saver (12 month deal) costing £14.99 per month. Canelo Alvarez’s fight with William Scull on Saturday, May 3, costs £21.99 in the UK.
TNT Sports charges £30.99/month for discovery+, with PPV events on TNT Sports Box Office priced at £19.99–£24.99.
Streaming has lowered barriers for regular viewers but can be costly for fans needing multiple subscriptions.
Key streaming-era fights include:
Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano (2022, DAZN): £21.99 PPV or included in subscription, 1.5 million viewers.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois (2023, TNT Sports Box Office): £19.99, estimated 800,000 buys.
Sky Box Office Boxing Price
The highly anticipated Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn fight, scheduled for April 26, 2025 is available to watch for £19.95 in the UK on Sky Box Office.
This price is for Sky Customers in the UK for self-service bookings online. Alternatively, the price is £24.95 if you book over the phone, with an additional £2 if you use an agent.
The fight is also available to watch via live stream on DAZN for subscribers and non-subscribers. Similarly to Sky Box Office, the price to watch the fight is £19.95.
Sky Box Office Boxing Schedule
The coverage for Chris Eubank Jr’s fight with Conor Benn at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, begins at 5pm on Sky Box Office on April 26.
The undercard has fights including Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur, Liam Smith vs Aaron Mckenna and Viddal Riley vs Cheavon Clarke.
Eubank and Benn are expected to make their ring walks at around 9:45pm