The University of Hawai'i has had what it describes as "a preliminary discussion about what the financial impact of eliminating pay-per-view on O'ahu would be."

Associate athletic director John McNamara said "it was all very preliminary. No official conversations have taken place. We were just curious about what the financial considerations might be."

McNamara and K5 declined to say how much of the approximately $2.1 million UH stands to receive in combined guarantees and incentives this year would change if pay-per-view was eliminated.

McNamara said any review of pay-per-view would not be done solely on a financial basis. "What would you say to those fans, the elderly, those with family considerations and those with physical limitations for whom it is just not possible to attend the games?" McNamara said.

UH and K5 are in the second year of a second three-year contract that makes most UH football games and selected men's basketball and women's volleyball matches available on a subscription basis. Critics have cited pay-per-view as a factor in lagging football attendance despite its own declining sales.

This year, UH football is averaging 27,395 in turnstile attendance, lowest in head coach June Jones' eight seasons. Meanwhile, the sale of pay-per-view packages has hit a five-year low of 6,646, according to K5 and UH. Last year, 7,809 packages were sold, down from the all-time high of 8,997 in 2004. Sales of individual games have not changed significantly, K5 said.

John Fink, vice president and general manager of K5 and sister station KHNL, takes issue with those who blame pay-per-view as the main factor in lagging attendance. "Therefore, under that simple logic, that there are all these fans, they would either have to go to the game or buy pay-per-view," Fink said. "Well, according to us, they aren't buying pay-per-view. And, according to UH, they're not going to the games, either."

Fink said it is simplistic to say they are all crowding around sets watching pay-per-view, too. "Anybody who can sit there and tell me how many people are there in each home, I would tell them, then you ought to be a statistician because how do you know? In my house, there is one person. In my parents' house, there are two."

But while total sales are down, K5 and UH said receipts are up, totaling $2 million with two games remaining. Under terms of the contract, K5 and Oceanic Time Warner Cable split the first $1 million — 68 percent to 32 percent. UH receives 10 percent of sales between $1 million and $1.5 million and 30 percent thereafter. UH is projected to receive approximately $350,000 from total sales this year.

Pay-per-view began in 2002 as a way to bring in revenue from fans who couldn't — or wouldn't — attend games. UH received most of the revenue on an incentive basis. Last year, in exchange for a guarantee of $1.75 million annually for TV rights, the school began turning over the bulk of pay-per-view receipts to K5. Previously, K5 paid UH $1.2 million. But after ESPN began taking a bigger chunk of UH games, K5 said it would only guarantee the school $700,000.

As part of the agreement, K5 did away with free same-night delayed telecast of football games and now shows them on Sunday morning.

"If we were to pull the plug on pay-per-view on O'ahu, could we generate the additional dollars to make up for what we'd be walking away from? I don't know," McNamara said. "I don't think anyone does."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.