Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has aired his views on the current situation regarding a Triller lawsuit.
Triller launched legal action over illegal streaming of their recent event featuring MMA fighter Ben Askren. The move came after thousands gained access online via unauthorized websites and YouTube channels.
Upon hearing that Triller aimed to recoup much more than their actual losses in damages, Lewis questioned the move due to the targeted fanbase.
Lewis asked: “What did they expect? The majority of the marketing was on social media, targeting teenagers. Do teenagers have $50 for PPV?”
Since then, Triller offered to eliminate any punishment if those who hijacked the Pay Per View paid the money back.
“Triller today announced it had opened a website for anyone who pirated the April 17 Triller Fight Club event to pay the original $49.99 PPV price before June 1st,” they stated.
If those who are known to Triller don’t pay, “the company will be pursuing individuals for the maximum civil penalty of $150,000 per illegal stream.”
“On the FITE.tv payment page, Triller has embedded an agreement. Upon paying the $49.99 fee, it will release and agree not to pursue the user for the $150,000 civil penalty that it would be entitled to against each and any individual who pirated the PPV event.”
It’s an ambitious move for Triller, who says, “more than two million illegal streams of the event occurred,” amounting to just under $100 million.
But Lewis has a valid point. If you’re going to put those kinds of YouTube freak shows in a PPV main event, the price must match the audience.
Otherwise, the likelihood of illegal stream increases massively.
Triller believes they found a way around it by using “VPN firewalls” that have to “turn over the actual IP addresses of each person who stole the fight in discovery.”
Matt St. Claire, Head of Piracy for Triller, is confident they will find every single one.
“We will be able to identify every person, VPN or not. Each stream has a unique fingerprint embedded in the content.
“Triller will pursue the total $150,000 penalty per person per instance for anyone who doesn’t do the right thing. Anyone who fails to pay before the deadline.
“Violation of federal anti-piracy laws for protected works automatically carries a $150,000 maximum civil penalty, as well as up to a $250,000 criminal penalty. And up to 5 years in jail per instance.
“We encourage anyone who pirated the event to visit the site before June 1, pay their $49.99. They’ll receive a complete release from Triller to avoid further action,” added St. Claire.
LENNOX LEWIS
Lennox Lewis, linked to facing former Triller fighter Mike Tyson in September, is as disillusioned as most real boxing fans about the whole access YouTubers get to top boxing events.
Having 30 million followers is undoubtedly no right of passage for anyone. However, money seems to talk with those who are handing out licenses like Vegas strip club flyers.
Phil Jay is the Editor of WBN. An Auxiliary member of the Boxing Writers Association of America since 2018. And a member of the Sports Journalists’ Association. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
