It was a battle of the ages as one band whose members are, well, industry veterans, to put it mildly, took on another band whose members were young enough to be called Boys. But in the end, it was no contest, as the old guys — the Grateful Dead — spanked the boy band the Backstreet Boys.
Deadline.com reports that the Dead topped the record set by the Backstreet Boys back in 1999 for live music shows on pay-per-view — by a lot. The Grateful Dead reportedly delivered 400,000-plus pay-per-view TV orders for its five-night concert sendoff in California and Chicago, obliterating the previous mark of 160,000 set by the Backstreet Boys in 1999. The Backstreet Boys, the report notes, were the first musical group to reach 100,000 paid views.
“The Dead shows, available on YouTube, the Dish Network, DirecTV, Verizon Fios and AT&T Uverse, ranged in single-show prices from $19.95 to $29.95, with a package deal available at $109.95,” Deadline notes.
The Dead shows remain available through Aug. 2, the report notes.
This is not really comparable. I love the Dead, but the options for getting PPV today are vastly different from 1999. Plus one night versus 5? The Backstreet Boys event was revolutionary at a time when PPV was mostly basically boxing. Let’s not forget how important that event was in legitimizing PPV for mainstream audiences.
lmao, there is someone sticking up for BSB.