In August 2018, “the biggest internet event in history” commenced between YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI (who have 38 million subscribers collectively) which was live-streamed on the platform in their first ever pay-to-view format to millions of fans around the world. These amateur, non-professional fighters fought against each other in a boxing match at Manchester Arena, cultivated from a frenzied online feud in the form of ‘diss tracks’ and exposé videos. They have cleverly tapped into an undisturbed market, targeting the online hate for each other built from their long-standing reputations and using it as an incredible promotional campaign for the fight; who wouldn’t want to see one of the most controversial figures in a fight with everything on the line?
 |
| Still from the headline match |
What is even more remarkable is that the match achieved more views than actual professional fights. KSI Vs Logan Paul generated approximately $11 million from 770,000 viewers paying $10 to access the stream and 21,000fans purchasing Manchester Arena tickets costing between £80-£495. The $11 million does not include YouTube AdSense from videos leading up to the fight, merchandise or the various sponsors consisting of Footasylum, Rumble League and HAUK. An event based on the internet is naturally a huge target for illegal streams, this fight being no exception. 1 million viewers watched the match on pirated Twitch streams causing a potential loss of $9.7 million. Despite this, amateur sportsmen and YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI were the highest earning boxers of 2018, causing a shock wave in the professional industry. Betting company Coral took more bets from this match than in 90% of yearly booking bouts, emphasising what can only be described as an phenomenon in online sport.
This match demonstrates a unique collaboration between the sporting industry and the social media generation, creating a new form of virtual sporting entertainment that directly appeals to the increase of online viewing with 16-34 year olds spending around an hour a day watching YouTube; that time frame constantly increasing as television viewing figures plummet. Furthermore, this pay-to-view stream format is re-inventing the televisual issue of ‘liveness’, surpassing normal broadcasters to create a new interactive service that viewers can watch and simultaneously comment on, generating a global discussion unheard of before. This is a signifier of the cultural power influencers and YouTube itself has, shifting the broadcast of monumental events away from television and placing YouTubers on an international scale. KSI in an interview with Polygonexpressed the underdog nature of the platform with: “I feel like for years, old media has always neglected YouTube, pushed back and felt like YouTube wasn’t a real media outlet.” This match has showcased the true media power of the site with promoters and spokespeople already hinting at other ground-breaking events with the theory, “fans just want to see YouTubers – and want to see them to anything.”
With a rematch scheduled in the United States for May 2019, the feud between KSI and Logan Paul may have just ignited a new direction for modern sporting entertainment, reflective of the ever growing convergent mediascape. Chris Hamill, an analyst on the popular YouTube channel Football Daily, is confident that YouTube will continue with this new wave of commercialised sport media; the rematch is only the beginning.
No comments:
Post a Comment