Fight club fallout
Showtime's sat offer of Tyson troubles cablers
"This is troublesome and extremely discouraging," said Lynne Buening, VP of Falcon Cable TV, a large multisystem operator that Charter Communications is in the process of purchasing. "DirecTV will be able to use the fight as a loss leader to get new customers. I wish Showtime had given cable operators the same opportunity."
Although subscribers who get Showtime over cable will receive the fight telecast, all DirecTV subscribers will be able to view the fight whether they pay for Showtime or not.
Renaissance Media partner Mike Egan, a cable operator consultant, said, "I'm amazed, and shocked, that Showtime would shut cable operators out of such a high-profile event as the Mike Tyson fight."
Sources said Showtime risked the wrath of cable operators because it's counting on the proven marketing skills of DirecTV to pump up the audience for the fight, which is the first Tyson bout ever to premiere live on Showtime instead of as a pay-per-view event.
"DirecTV is being aggressive about using this marketing ploy because it wants to offer something special to its entire assimilated base of subscribers for the first time," said Suzan Couch, a senior marketing consultant for Showtime who focuses on satellite distribution.
By entire base, Couch is referring to the defunct PrimeStar, some of whose 2 million subscribers have moved into the DirecTV fold, as well as USSB, formerly separate from its sister DirecTV but now absorbed by it. These additions have pumped up DirecTV's subscriber base from 5.5 million to 7.7 million in the last few months.
