No, it was not a billion.

...

While the people in the ring were Ali and Foreman, the story of the actual broadcast goes to Hank Schwartz and Don King.

Schwartz (in partnership with Barry Burnstein) had a closed-circuit television company Video Techniques which utilized the new technology of satellite to beam to nearly all the countries of the world. The recipients of the signals could then show the broadcasts via either closed-circuit -- which means people would pay for tickets to see the broadcast in theaters -- or in countries without such an arrangement, free television or tape delay.

Schwartz labored over a number of events in the early 1970s to learn how to make boxing more exciting for viewers: for example, making the ring painted blue instead of white to make feet movement more visible, and having one of the cameramen with a shoulder-mount camera to allow for new angles. Schwartz's company was hired to give consulting for the Ali-Foster fight in Tokyo (April 1, 1972) but some of his advice was ignored, and it gave him the determination to be a "total service package" company as opposed to just working with others, that if he put "together all the technical services, including well-equipped television production, a communication infastructure able to reach the newer satellites, and proper site selection, then I could change everything."

Schwartz worked with the Jamaican government for the Frazier-Foreman fight in January of 1973. Jamaica wanted to (much like Zaire two years later) built up its tourism. Schwartz climbed a tower of Jamaica's satellite system (JAMINTEL) to work out how to beam out a signal with microwave antenna, and managed to get a contract not just for broadcasting but distribution and revenue collection. Some of the broadcasts were sold to TV theaters, and in the US he sold home television rights to the new company HBO.

The same time that Schwartz was developing his Video Technique companies, Don King emerged (after leaving prison from a manslaughter charge, and seeing the Frazer-Ali fight in March of 1971) as a boxing promoter, who described himself as

...a solitary black man up against the weapons of the white power structure, a bow and arrow against an atom bomb.

King was essentially the first to break through the "organization barrier", being in boxing not as an athlete, but in the centers of power.

King and Schwartz ended up joining forces; King kept his own company (Don King Productions) but gave Video Techniques 100 percent of his time during this period, crucially including the time of the Rumble in the Jungle.

King had managed to get both fighters (Ali and Foreman) to sign agreements about doing the fight but had trouble getting letters of credit. Rescue ended up coming in the form of a call from a financier named Fred Weymar, who said a company named Risnelia was interested in putting up the money as long as the fight took place in Zaire. There was some dirty business underfoot. Weymar was banned from the US due to his involvement with the Nazi Bund, and was cozy with President Mobutu of Zaire. Risnelia was a shell company for Mobutu so he could pocket money.

Still, money was money, although King had to reassure Mobutu that he could trust Schwartz even though he was a Jew. The profit split went

Risnelia 42%

Hemdale Film Corporation 28%

Telemedia (another company of Schwartz) 10%

Video Techniques: 15.66%

Don King Enterprises: 4.33%

The reactions to Zaire being the site were pronounced; it was the first heavyweight match in Africa and Americans and Europeans found it "bizarre". However, as the editor of Sportsworld (Alan Hubbard) wrote:, “the truth is promoting the 'richest prize in sport' is no longer the prerogative of America" and that

The 'live audience is relatively immaterial -- with the bulk of the profits from closed-circuit television, an arena is required really as a studio.

King declared:

More people will see Foreman and Ali mix styles than any previous sporting event in history. A total audience at more than a billion people is not a gross exaggeration.

This is where I believe the billion number comes from. This was a potential number, and it possibly could have happened, but Video Techniques made a crucial business mistake: they charged too much money. Tickets for the closed-circuit theater showings in the US went for $20 to $30. The Ali-Frazer fight of 1971 -- which fared much better on sales -- went for $5 to $15. As a result, audiences were much reduced, and Video Techniques suffered losses of $4 million dollars. (I am unclear if this affected the profit split I mentioned earlier.)

Still, there were an enormous number of eyeballs: estimates at the time gave "hundreds of millions" as the actual viewership, in around 75 countries. For context, the moon landing of 1969 had about half a billion; so this was still respectable numbers, but nothing approaching the billion King was hoping. I am not clear when the story got inflated; it is possible this number was inflated from people who watched it later in documentary form and tape.

The HBO broadcast is online, if you'd like to watch it in its original form.

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Erenberg, L. A. (2021). The Rumble in the Jungle: Muhammad Ali and George Foreman on the Global Stage. United States: University of Chicago Press.

Sammons, J. T. (1990). Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society. United States: University of Illinois Press.