Oleksandr Usyk’s historic world heavyweight championship victory over Tyson Fury last weekend was watched by at least 20 million people via illegal streams, costing TV rights holders around £95 million in lost revenue.
Analysis carried out by online intelligence firm Yield Sec for Mail Sport has found evidence that more than 2,000 different streaming locations are broadcasting the fight from Riyadh, with 18 percent of those watching illegally from Britain.
Sky Sports, TNT Sport and DAZN all bought the rights to broadcast the world’s first undisputed heavyweight bout for £25 on their pay-per-view channels, but millions of boxing fans opted not to pay the £25 fee and tuned in illegally to the fight instead.
Nearly four million people watched an illegal stream of Usyk’s split-point decision win in Britain on Saturday.
Yield Sec’s analysis shows that 45 percent of illegal streaming took place in Europe, with 25 percent in North America and 16 percent in Asia.
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999
Usyk won the fight via split decision after an entertaining clash between the two heavyweights, with both enjoying periods of dominance in the ring
Many of the illegal streams are funded by advertising for gambling and/or crypto schemes, while some charge a small fee of less than £1 on average.
The number of people who watched the fight illegally would likely have been much higher than 20 million, as Yield Sec’s analysis is based on the assumption that only one person watches each stream.
The company defines one illegal stream view as more than 90 seconds spent watching the fight.
The figures for illegal viewing of Usyk v Fury are among the highest ever recorded for any sporting event, with 36 times more people watching than for the Anthony Joshua v Ngannou heavyweight match in March.
A DAZN spokesperson told Mail Sport: ‘Sports piracy is theft. DAZN is investing a significant amount of money to combat it, using technology to monitor user activity and educate fans about the risks.
‘It may seem like a victimless crime, but most illegal feeds are provided by criminal networks or carry the risk of phishing and identity theft. Our advice is not to jeopardize the sport you care about or your own data by using illegal feeds.”