UH tweaks PPV, season-ticket prices

There will be a 65 percent discount for special package

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University of Hawaii season-ticket holders in football will be offered a 65 percent discount on a special five-game road pay-per-view package, according to athletic director Jim Donovan.

PDF [ Download (16 KB) ] The complete list of ticket prices.

The new AD also restructured significant price reductions in certain sections for the upcoming campaign when season tickets go on sale tomorrow.

"We want to make UH football affordable for as many of our fans as possible and provide added value to our season-ticket holders," Donovan said in a press release.

Adult season tickets in the red and yellow levels of the north end zone dropped $24 from last year to $75. Youth (4 years old to high school) season tickets in the north end zone are $60, a drop of $17 from 2007. Senior citizens also will be paying $17 less from last season for tickets in these same areas.

Season tickets in the south end zone's red and yellow sections dropped $17 to $110 for the season.

"We hope this will encourage more families to buy season tickets," Donovan said.

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UH Football Season ticket prices Sidelines * $145 South end zone * $127 South end zone (Red and Yellow) $110 North end zone adult $99 North end zone adult (Red and Yellow) $75 North end zone senior citizen $87 North end zone senior citizen (Red and Yellow) $87 North end zone youth (Age 4-high school) $60 UH faculty and staff $114 * Premium seat contributions apply (28,000 seats have PSC and 21,500 do not)

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They hope they have perfected the formula.

Pay-per-view prices for Hawaii sports events have been tinkered with every year. Partners UH, KHNL/KFVE and Oceanic Time-Warner try to come up with what will maximize attendance and revenue through a combination of ticket and TV sales.

They officially released their pricing today for football this fall (along with volleyball and basketball pay per view), with the highlight being lower prices for some seats in the stadium (as previously reported), and a 65 percent discount on road game pay per view for season-ticket purchasers.

Some season-ticket prices have been lowered this year (for a seven-game home schedule, same as last year), as much as $24 to $75 for north end zone seats in the red and yellow levels of Aloha Stadium. There are no price increases from last year.

The five-game road PPV package will be $99 for season-ticket holders, instead of $280.

"My main concern was that we come up with a package for the season-ticket holders, the people who actually fill the stadium for the home games, so they can watch the road games (live). I think $99 for all those road games is a great introductory rate," UH athletic director Jim Donovan said. "Secondly, we wanted to have something affordable (for home games), yet make you consider being a season-ticket holder. I think we're there. On a game-to-game basis, it's about the same (price)."

The price for a complete 11-game pay-per-view package is $580 for Oahu and $295 for neighbor islands (renewals from 2007 are $380 and $185). Single-game prices are $50 or $60 on Oahu and $25 or $30 depending on the opponent.

Last year, Oahu viewers paid $385 as new subscribers and $330 if renewing.

"If you do the math, last year there were eight games, this year there are 11," said John Fink, general manager of KHNL/KFVE, the TV rights owner for UH sports. "So it's actually less expensive per game this year. And if you look at the games we've got, it's the best package we've ever had."

The pay-per-view road games are Florida, Oregon State, Fresno State, Utah State and New Mexico State.

The home games are Weber State, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, Idaho and either Washington State or Cincinnati.

ESPN plans on televising the Washington State or Cincinnati game. If other games are picked up by networks that won't black out the game locally, pay-per-view subscribers will get a rebate, as in past years.

"We deal with that every year and we'll deal with that as it comes along," Fink said.

Without counting new sales generated from its campaign starting July 7, UH already projects a gain of 2,000 season-ticket packages sold from last year; these were generated through the deposit program for new purchasers.

"That's a vote of confidence in (new coach) Greg McMackin and because of what happened last season," Donovan said.

Not everyone is a fan of pay per view, because it cuts into attendance. But it is the only way some fans can see UH games as they happen, and helps the athletic department revenue, Donovan said.

"A lot of people who moved over from old Honolulu Stadium in 1975, they're now retired. So If you're 65 to 70-plus, it can be very difficult moving up and down numerous steps without rails (at the stadium). Pay per view becomes an option for them," he said.

"There's a lot of people working on Saturdays now. They work shifts that don't let them get off on time to get out there, tailgate, but they can get home and grab the pay per view. That's where society is today. Pay per view is a necessity for a portion of our fans. For others it's an option. KFVE and Oceanic come in with about 10 percent of our budget for the year, and it's primarily through pay per view. People who watch pay per view support us. We'd just like those who can to strongly consider coming out to a game."

Fink said advertising sales are encouraging early on.

"We're just starting. We've had great response so far. We're real happy with what we're presenting and we expect it to be another good year. As far as pay per view goes, the numbers were actually slipping on the season package (last year). But because the price went up we were able to maintain our revenue. We'll see what happens this year. As the team does better, you get more individual game buys, based on the team's performance. That's going to be a wait-and-see as the season goes along."