PPV in the 1960' and 1970's

[Master]

I have heard it was around in those days but in a different format. How did it work? Cinemas? Private screening? The big fights like Ali v Frazier/Foreman, Leonard v Hearns must have been on in this format, how did it work.

[Bobthepen]

Cable tv has been around since the fifties in the US, and you phoned your cable company and they unscrambled your box and then billed you for it. Just like in the nineties.

[Master]

Cable tv has been around since the fifties in the US, and you phoned your cable company and they unscrambled your box and then billed you for it. Just like in the nineties.

Really! We just getting cable now.

[greynotsoold]

They used to do close-circuit tv. That was how they did Holmes/Cooney; in my part of the world, you had to go out to the arena in San Bernardino to see the fight. But there was also ON Subscription TV, kind of like cable, but different, too.
My neighbors had ON and watched the Holmes/Cooney fight, but for some reason I was banned.
Same with the first Leonard/Hearns fight. You could get that via ON TV. Some people a few blocks away had the fight and projected it onto a big screen, like the old projector screens from years ago. I was walking my dog and saw that they had the fight, so I'd peer over the fence until their dog barked. Then they'd come and chase me away, I'd circle the block, come back and watch until they chased me away again.

[greynotsoold]

Saw Hagler/Hearns via ON TV as well. This time my friend's parents had a hook-up.

[Master]

I remember watching the replay of Ali v Fraizier I fight where they said they flew in the tape of the fight the day after, exclusive to the BBC so that the nation could watch it. So the fight was not live over here then.

Also to this day I have not seen the Bruno v Witherspoon fight. It was odd they showed the pre-fight hype on mainstream TV but then the fight was not shown and we found out the result the day after.

[Britkid]

The son of Alan Rudkin has said that there was an 'experiment' in the mid 60s where some of his father's bouts were shown on cable on a PPV basis, in parts of the North of England.

[Master]

The son of Alan Rudkin has said that there was an 'experiment' in the mid 60s where some of his father's bouts were shown on cable on a PPV basis, in parts of the North of England.

Must have failed because if it worked they would have made Henry Cooper a superstar and multi millionaire.

[SlimTrae]

Gray said it: closed circuit.

[Britkid]

The son of Alan Rudkin has said that there was an 'experiment' in the mid 60s where some of his father's bouts were shown on cable on a PPV basis, in parts of the North of England.

Must have failed because if it worked they would have made Henry Cooper a superstar and multi millionaire.

60s TV in the UK was weird. I always thought then Division One matches did not start being shown on TV live until the 80s; but they actually started showing them in 1961, but it did not take off and was stopped...

[IamInuit]

I have heard it was around in those days but in a different format. How did it work? Cinemas? Private screening? The big fights like Ali v Frazier/Foreman, Leonard v Hearns must have been on in this format, how did it work.

I grew up about 50 miles from the USA border and we had something called COAX. For Ali (rip) verses Chuvalo we got that via a feed through the CBC. On weekends, we would get all kinds of fights through the USA free feed thanks to COAX. The city literally stole the signal. The first Ali/Frazier fight was broadcast live at the Soo Theatre which was the only movie theatre we had. My brother and I were charged the same as going to an afternoon movie.....about 60 cents

[Mark TKO]

I was only 7 but I remember the Odeon cinema in Leeds showing the Ali v Holmes fight live in 1980.

I remember because our next door neighbour worked there and she had to go to work - this kind of thing was big news back then !!

Not sure if this happened regularly back then or if this was a one off

[Master]

I was only 7 but I remember the Odeon cinema in Leeds showing the Ali v Holmes fight live in 1980.

I remember because our next door neighbour worked there and she had to go to work - this kind of thing was big news back then !!

Not sure if this happened regularly back then or if this was a one off

I may be wrong but I thought the fight was on ITV?

It may have been the Holmes v Cooney fight though.

[J_Undisputed]

As a kid, one of the neighborhood bars got the closed circuit/PPV broadcasts on satellite. All the adults packed in for the fights, us kids would huddle around the side door and watch from outside because we weren't allowed inside. Thinking back in my head, I can almost smell that place (that typical bar smell of cigars, whiskey and that stuff they used to clean the felt on the pool table).

[Mark TKO]

I was only 7 but I remember the Odeon cinema in Leeds showing the Ali v Holmes fight live in 1980.

I remember because our next door neighbour worked there and she had to go to work - this kind of thing was big news back then !!

Not sure if this happened regularly back then or if this was a one off

I may be wrong but I thought the fight was on ITV?

It may have been the Holmes v Cooney fight though.

You are wrong