The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on Friday was one of the year’s most anticipated fights, and Netflix (NFLX) made sure to profit from it in every way it could.
Netflix even created a three-episode series titled “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson” to get fans even more hyped about the boxing match.
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This fight wasn’t only a no-brainer goldmine for Netflix but also a way for the streamer to test its livesteaming capabilities. Last week’s event lasted five hours and up next are two NFL Christmas Day games thanks to Netflix landing a massive three-year deal with the football league.
As big of a deal as this fight was, the expectations from Netflix subscribers were greater.
Related: Netflix has already scored big with upcoming NFL Christmas broadcasts
Unfortunately, Netflix didn’t meet its customers’ expectations as well as it hoped. The livestream was filled with technical difficulties, including multiple screen freezes, glitches, and endless buffering.
This failed attempt came with insane backlash from viewers who were frustrated with Netflix’s inability to successfully livestream an event. People still tuned in, although one viewer took their frustrations to the next level.
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight during LIVE On Netflix: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium on November 15, 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
Netflix faces a lawsuit by one of its subscribers after the record-breaking fight
Ronald “Blue” Denton filed a class-action lawsuit in Florida on Monday, only a few days after the fight. He is suing Netflix for breaching its contract due to the constant technical difficulties throughout the event, which it failed to fix, and is seeking unspecified damages for the wrongdoings. The plaintiff supports his claims by citing multiple social media posts and comments from several platforms, with users complaining about having ongoing livestream issues throughout the fight.
In an internal company memo, Netflix NFLX acknowledged the multiple issues during the fight’s livestream and said the team actively worked on restabilizing the stream during the event.
“This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers,” said Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight gains Netflix millions of live viewers
Despite executing yet another failed attempt at live streaming and taking multiple punches from its audience, Netflix still managed to deliver a record-breaking show.
According to Netflix, the highly anticipated Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on Friday was the most streamed global sporting event ever, reaching 108 million viewers worldwide and 65 million concurrent streams.
Related: Netflix makes major NFL announcement
However, that was not the only record Netflix broke that day. The co-main event featuring Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor that happened earlier in the night also broke a record as the most-watched professional women’s sporting event in the U.S., with 47 million viewers and 74 million live global viewers.
Netflix might get taken down by strong livestreaming competitors
Netflix might be the biggest streaming service in the world when it comes to memberships, but if it doesn’t sharpen its livestreaming capabilities, competitors might soon take over its title.
Hulu (DIS) has also entered the livestreaming game by livestreaming major music festivals this year, including Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza, and more, with virtually no technical difficulties or issues.
Although Netflix has a deal with the NFL to livestream the Christmas Day football games, Hulu carries ESPN+ with its Live TV bundle. ESPN is one of the NFL’s biggest network partners, and if Netflix doesn’t get its act together, it might lose out on an extension to its NFL Christmas Day games deal once the three years are up.
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On the heels of the Paul-Tyson debacle, Netflix’s Stone acknowledged the company has some work to do.
“We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members, and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success,” she added.
Netflix didn’t immediately reply to TheStreet’s request for comment.
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