Mayweather-Paul Fight Overwhelms Showtime Servers, Causing PPV and App Outages

Cynthia Littleton
·2 min read
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Strong demand for Sunday’s heavily promoted fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Logan Paul has caused outages for some consumers on Showtime’s PPV service and its streaming apps, the company said Sunday.

ViacomCBS’ premium network acknowledged “an issue impacting tonight’s PPV event as well as the Showtime and Showtime Anytime apps” in a Twitter message posted at 6:16 p.m. PT. The event dubbed “Bragging Rights” features the retired boxing champ and the disgraced YouTuber. The bout that sold for $49.99 started at 5 p.m. PT.

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“We are aware that some customers have been having trouble accessing tonight’s Pay Per View event on Showtime.com. We are working diligently to resolve the issue and will redress customers appropriately,” Showtime said in a statement.

Transmission and transaction trouble for major events are nothing new for Showtime or other outlets as traditional media outlets move into direct-to-consumer business models. CBS has had trouble meeting demand for streaming of major live events such as the Grammy Awards and Super Bowl in the past. HBO generated consumer grumbling when its server capability was swamped by eager demand in May 2019 for series finale of “Game of Thrones.” Meanwhile, Disney bought a strong streaming platform with its 2017 acquisition of BamTech, which was a stepping stone for the launch of Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.

Mayweather and Paul are set to go eight rounds fight. The made-for-social media stunt is the main event during the four-fight event, which also sees former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson making his boxing debut against fighter Brian Maxwell.

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