YouTubers vs Tiktokers event flops; Harden, fighters struggling to get paid
The “Battle of the Platforms” celebrity boxing event has reportedly lost millions.
While many are trying to capitalize on the recent wave of Celebrity Boxing events, the YouTubers vs Tiktokers event last June has flopped miserably.
Dubbed as Social Gloves: The Battle of the Platforms, the show was headlined by YouTuber Austin McBroom and TikTok star Bryce Hall, and it also had performances from DJ Khaled, Migos and Lil Baby. While the competitors had sizable followings, the event reportedly ended up just selling 135,000 pay-per-views. The show had a pretty steep $50 PPV price, and due to very large production costs, it was said to have needed 500,000 buys just to break even.
According to a report from Billboard, the event cost a whopping $20 million to produce and ended up losing “at least $10 million.” Now fighters and investors are still struggling to get paid. Among these key investors are Brooklyn Nets superstar James Harden and “at least one other” fellow NBA player that was unnamed.
Hall previously claimed to have a $5 million guarantee, plus a 4% cut of the PPV, but he ended up as one of the many competitors who have yet to get paid. The event was broadcast as “Social Gloves” on LiveXLive, and lawyers are now coming after the company trying to get paid.
LiveXLive is now overseeing Battle of the Platforms’ $6.5 million to $10 million in revenue from pay-per-view sales and sponsorships, sources say. Lawyers for Harden, McBroom, Hall — who was promised a $5 million fee for participating in the fight — and others are trying to figure out how to get their clients paid from the sales generated by LiveXLive.
If the sides can’t agree, the dispute could end up either in bankruptcy or as part of a lawsuit. LiveXLive is currently embroiled in a dozen lawsuits and legal efforts to enforce court-ordered judgements won by lawyers, former ticketing clients and ex-employees.
LiveXLive is also said to be “currently embroiled in a dozen lawsuits.”
While a $50 event needing 500,000 PPV buys just to break even seemed destined to fail, a lot of the criticism for its failure has been going to McBroom. Billboard explains:
Several sources involved in the Battle of Platforms say it’s actually McBroom who’s at fault for the event’s lackluster sales and exploding costs, saying the 29-year-old approved a spiraling budget but didn’t put in the work to properly market the event.
McBroom has also been under fire since news broke that the competitors weren’t being paid, as he reportedly had an ownership stake in Social Gloves. Billboard also reported that Harden’s investment was made through a Delaware LLC called Simply Greatness Productions, a company also owned by McBroom.
The 29-year-old McBroom defeated Hall by third round TKO as the event’s headliner. In case you weren’t part of the 135,000 who spent $50 last June, you can watch their technique here:
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