In an announcement that is jaw-dropping, but more than welcomed by combat sports fans around the world, Turki Alalshikh -- the chair of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority -- has announced the end of the pay-per-view model of Riyadh Season and The Ring cards on DAZN.
Posting to X (fka Twitter), Alalshikh announced that this decision was made in partnership with DAZN, which broadcasts Riyadh Season boxing events, following a meeting with DAZN CEO Shay Segev.
This will go into effect beginning with The Ring IV card on Saturday, November 22 -- a card that features three -- and potentially a fourth -- world championship fights.
"We have big vision to grow boxing and decide: No more Pay-Per-View," Alalshikh posted. "Starting with our Ring Magazine show in November, all Riyadh Season & The Ring events will be free to DAZN subscribers. The PPV model has damaged boxing, and we will no longer support it. We are with the fight fans."
Turki Alalshikh: Riyadh Season & The Ring Cards To Be Free For DAZN Subscribers Beginning In November
The news announced by Alalshikh also comes as the UFC, who Alalshikh also has a working relationship with, is in the midst of negotiations to find its new U.S. broadcasting home after its deal with ESPN expires at the end of this year. Some believe that the UFC could end up one way or another on Netflix -- and the deal could be so financially massive some hope it ends the UFC's usage of the pay-per-view model as well.
When DAZN first launched in 2016, reaching the U.S. in 2018 right before an Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin heavyweight title fight, the hope was for this to be the start of the combat sports world eventually moving away from pay-per-view.
Through a combination of factors, however, including the economics of combat sports (let alone boxing) -- which included impacts DAZN, and the combat sports industry as a whole, were dealt during the COVID-19 pandemic -- led DAZN to introduce pay-per-view events, beginning with the May 2022 clash between Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol.
DAZN had some financial straits placed on it around that time. SportsPro reported a $1.3 billion loss for the streaming platform in 2020, and a 2021 Bloomberg article said DAZN's losses swelled to $2.3 billion by that point -- part of which came from acquisitions of soccer programing.
DAZN also began a five-year broadcasting partnership with Bellator in 2018 before the two parted ways in 2020. DAZN executive Joe Markowski, in a 2022 appearance on The MMA Hour, did not go into specifics; however, he stated the early end of the contract was a "consequence of COVID."
The Ring IV in November will be headlined by WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez defending his title against Anthony Yarde. The co-main event will see Brian Norman Jr. defend his WBO welterweight title against unbeaten former undisputed lightweight champion and former WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney.
Sam Noakes and Abdullah Mason, the top two lightweight contenders ranked by the WBO, will clash for the vacant championship.
An undisputed champion at 115 pounds could also be determined on this November card. WBC junior bantamweight champion Jesse Rodriguez takes on WBO champion Phumelela Cafu on July 19, and if Rodriguez wins and unifies the WBC and WBO titles, he will then face WBA and IBF champion Fernando Martinez to determine the undisputed champion of the weight class at The Ring IV.