Mayweather vs Pacquiao: PPV to be set at $99

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that pay-per-view for May-Pac is going to run at $99, and $89 for standard definition (for anyone who still watches anything in SD). There is also a suggested clause that in addition to $99 price tag, the promoters will also require a pound of flesh from each buyer, but that has yet to be verified...

All in all, this isn't exactly unexpected as most people figured the PPV was going to be set at $100 anyways. However, there wasn't an official announcement made on the price tag as HBO/Showtime were locked in a stalemate with PPV distributors over what the split should be between them. HBO/Showtime originally offered a 70/30 split in their favor, but the distributors summarily rejected that offer.

Now, it looks like both sides are beginning to compromise and their deal is expected to be completed within the next few days. Ultimately, the distributors are going to have to make some concessions on their typical cut (between 50-55%) but it won't be the 70/30 split that was offered. They will meet somewhere in between in what I'm guessing will end up being close to a 60/40 split. The final split, however, is going to take into account the amount of marketing and promotion dollars that the cable operators pour into the fight. If certain incentives are met, the distributors are expected to earn up to that 40% of the PPV revenue.