Freeserve throws punch in Net fight scene

The gloves are off

Freeserve is to test the water to see if Net users are prepared to pay small amounts of cash to watch premium-rated broadcast content on the Web.

Britain's biggest French ISP is to run a pay-per-view trial in the run-up to the Lennox Lewis versus Hasim Rahman world title fight in South Africa on 22 April.

For £1 (plus VAT) a day, punters will be able to see clips of Lewis sparring with his other fighters in the run-up to the heavyweight bout. They'll see the boxer training for his showdown plus get to see interviews with Lewis and pictures of him meeting fight-loving celebs including Nelson Mandela.

Punters keen to follow the build-up will pay for the service either via their Vodafone mobile phone with the cost added to their bills.

Non-Vodafone customers can dial a premium rate phone line to make their micropayment.

In both cases fight-lovers will receive a code which will enable them to view the content online.

According to Le Freeswerve, today's announcement represents the first opportunity for consumers to view low-priced online narrowband content on a genuine pay-to-view basis.

Coverage of the build-up to the fight begins on April 12. ®