New video app Periscope has confirmed that it removed 30 ‘illegal’ streams of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight
The app, owned by social media giant Twitter, received 66 complaints from rights holders during the Las Vegas superfight, and insisted it responded to close each stream within minutes of being notified.
Nonetheless, large numbers of people no doubt watched the fight over the streams, a big problem for a contest that commanded a pay-per-view fee of nearly $100. More than three million people were expected to pay for the fight, but it will be interesting to see just how far short of that target promoters may fall
It’s the first major event where the app’s livestreaming capabilities are likely to cause controversy, and the company said in a statement that ‘It’s not the kind of content we want to see in Periscope’. However, Twitter CEO Dick Costelo didn’t help matters when he declared Periscope ‘ the winner’ of the fight.
The PGA Tour have also confronted the new software, revoking one journalist’s accreditation for the entire season last week after she used Periscope to show footage from a practice round.
