Waterman’s company Secondsout.com had concluded a globally exclusive deal to screen the fight live on the internet - only the home nations of the fighters, USA and the host country Germany, were excluded.
But, he says, over 100,000 people viewed fight action free on YouTube.
The move highlights one of the key challenges currently facing the sports media sector - the damaging impact that YouTube and other sites which allow video to be uploaded and shared for free are likely to have on rights markets for many sports.
Waterman’s company operates Secondsout.com, one of the world’s most visited boxing portals. He has acquired a portfolio of rights for exclusive live fights which form the backbone of the Secondsout.tv subscription / Pay Per View service which can be accessed through Secondsout.com.
Waterman is an experienced boxing manager and promoter. He promotes fights all over the world and has worked extensively with the BBC and Sky Sport, HBO and Eurosport.
He passionately believes that Internet delivered television will be the financial lifeline for many sports which are unable to demand regular airtime through regular broadcasters. But he believes that video piracy, facilitated by YouTube and others will seriously damage that potential.
