Twitter CEO Names Periscope 'Winner' In Mayweather-Pacquiao Match After Boxing Fans Use App To Watch Fight For Free
(CBS SF) -- The boxing fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao could spark a more intense battle over online piracy.
Many fans used live streaming apps like Twitter's Periscope and Meerkat to avoid the $89 or $100 pay-per-view charges people at home had paid to watch the fight on TV. Instead, those apps let people watch the bout for free, even though HBO and Showtime, owned by CBS, tried to stop it.
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo was vocal about the successful wide-spread use of the app, calling Periscope the night's true winner.
People on Twitter also chimed in about using Periscope to watch the fight for free.
"The real media story on the fight is about how many people are Periscoping this stuff. Amazing."
"And the #MayPac winner by unanimous decision... #Periscope"
Bloomberg reports top officials from HBO and Showtime asked Periscope, Meerkat and other live-streaming sources to take down the videos. The two cable companies have already filed a joint lawsuit against sites that allegedly streamed the fight for free, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
RELATED: Golf Reporter Claims Periscope Broadcast From San Francisco Got Her Tour Privileges Revoked
CBS News contributor and editor of NewYorker.com Nicholas Thompson joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the controversy.
