In
August 2018, “the
biggest internet event in history” commenced between YouTube stars Logan
Paul and KSI (who have 38 million subscribers collectively) which was
live-streamed on the platform in their first ever pay-to-view format to millions
of fans around the world. These amateur, non-professional fighters fought
against each other in a boxing match at Manchester Arena, cultivated from a frenzied online
feud in the form of ‘diss tracks’ and exposé videos. They have cleverly
tapped into an undisturbed market, targeting the online hate for each other built
from their long-standing reputations and using it as an incredible promotional campaign
for the fight; who wouldn’t want to see one of the most controversial figures in a fight with everything on the line?
 |
| Still from the headline match |
What
is even more remarkable is that the match achieved more views than actual professional
fights. KSI Vs Logan Paul generated approximately $11
million from 770,000 viewers paying $10 to access the stream and 21,000
fans purchasing Manchester Arena tickets costing between £80-£495. The $11
million does not include YouTube AdSense from videos leading up to the fight, merchandise
or the various sponsors consisting of Footasylum, Rumble League and HAUK. An event based
on the internet is naturally a huge target for illegal streams, this fight being
no exception. 1 million viewers watched the match on pirated Twitch streams
causing a potential loss of $9.7 million. Despite this, amateur sportsmen and YouTubers
Logan Paul and KSI were the highest earning boxers of 2018, causing a shock
wave in the professional industry. Betting company Coral took more bets from
this match than in 90% of yearly booking bouts, emphasising what can only be
described as an phenomenon in online sport.
This match
demonstrates a unique collaboration between the sporting industry and the social
media generation, creating a new form of virtual sporting entertainment that directly
appeals to the increase of online viewing with 16-34
year olds spending around an hour a day watching YouTube; that time frame
constantly increasing as television viewing figures plummet. Furthermore, this
pay-to-view stream format is re-inventing the televisual issue of ‘liveness’, surpassing
normal broadcasters to create a new interactive service that viewers can watch
and simultaneously comment on, generating a global discussion unheard
of before. This is a signifier of the cultural power influencers and YouTube itself
has, shifting the broadcast of monumental events away from television and
placing YouTubers on an international scale. KSI in an interview with Polygon
expressed the underdog nature of the platform with: “I feel like for years, old
media has always neglected YouTube, pushed back and felt like YouTube wasn’t a
real media outlet.” This match has showcased the true media power of the site
with promoters and spokespeople already hinting at other ground-breaking events
with the theory, “fans just want to see YouTubers – and want to see them to
anything.”
With
a rematch scheduled in the United States for May
2019, the feud between KSI and Logan Paul may have just ignited a new
direction for modern sporting entertainment, reflective of the ever growing convergent
mediascape. Chris Hamill,
an analyst on the popular YouTube channel Football Daily, is confident that
YouTube will continue with this new wave of commercialised sport media; the rematch is only the beginning.
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