Netflix has six weeks to learn how to stream a massive sporting event reliably.
Friday’s boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson drew 65 million viewers for the streamer, but buffering and technical issues hampered the experience and led to widespread criticism.
Netflix will want to iron out those kinks before hosting an NFL Christmas Day doubleheader, including a game featuring the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The NFL dominates television ratings each year and its legions of die-hard fans don’t always react well to change. January’s streaming-exclusive playoff game on Peacock drew countless complaints, despite airing without any major issues and becoming — at that time — the most-streamed event in recorded history.
Friday’s bout between Tyson and Paul shattered viewership records for Netflix but resulted in thousands of complaints.
The most common issues mentioned included frozen screens, unwatchable amounts of buffering and poor streaming quality. DownDetector, a site that tracks problems with an online site or service, recorded more than 98,000 users with issues.
“Mike Tyson’s punchout in 1987 had better video quality than #Netflix right now,” one X user wrote, referring to the 8-bit Nintendo video game.
“After the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, everyone should cancel their Netflix subscription,” another commenter wrote. “I know MULTIPLE people who were buffering the whole time. Plus, they baited us with the most disappointing fight of the century.”
The highly anticipated match between Paul — a 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer — and Tyson — the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion — failed to impress. The pair pattered around the ring for eight two-minute rounds in an exhibition that drew a widespread shrug from viewers. Paul ultimately won the fight by unanimous decision.
The event was held at the home of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appeared on the broadcast to express optimism about Netflix’s future with the NFL.
“Worldwide coverage with Netflix,” Jones said. “We’re so excited in the NFL about Netflix becoming a huge part of our future. This tonight gives us a chance to go to 40, 50 million people and do it from right here.”
But the owner’s microphone wasn’t properly connected. Viewers could barely hear his praise. Retired boxer Evander Holyfield had similar problems —- he struggled to provide analysis due to issues with his earpiece.
Despite the problems, Netflix officials said the event was a clear win for the service.
“This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers,” Netflix Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone said in a memo to employees, according to Bloomberg. “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.”
The streamer has until Christmas Day — the holiday falls on a Wednesday this year — to fix some of the problems before returning with NFL games featuring the Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.
Last year’s Christmas games ranked among the most-watched games of the regular season. This year’s games, featuring four teams fighting for playoff positioning, could attract even more viewers.
Netflix officials told the Hollywood Reporter that the streamer has already sold out all of its advertising slots for the upcoming games.
Fanduel invested in the event as an official sports betting partner, while Verizon signed up to be a kickoff sponsor.
CBS will handle the production of the Christmas Day games, while NFL Network will handle the pregame, postgame and halftime festivities. But transmitting the games to millions of homes? That duty falls squarely on the streamer’s shoulders.
It’s a high-stakes proposition for Netflix as it continues to expand its sports portfolio. The effort began with a series of sports documentaries — the F1-focused “Drive to Survive” was particularly successful.
This year, the company has spread to live events. Netflix paid WWE $5 billion for the rights to the weekly “Monday Night Raw” program and spent an estimated $150 million to broadcast this year’s Christmas Day NFL games. The streamer will also carry the holiday football matchups in 2025 and 2026.
More streaming-exclusive NFL games could be on the horizon. Front Office Sports reported earlier this year that the league was looking to sell the rights to its ever-expanding slate of international games that air on Sunday mornings throughout the season.
Analysts believe the rights could fetch $1 billion per season and pegged Netflix as a logical suitor for the package.
“By creating a weekly international package of games, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the NFL would create a brand-new, sixth regular-season games package — ideal for a global streamer like … Netflix,” John Kosner, a former executive with ESPN and the NBA, told Front Office Sports. “How valuable would that be?”
Whether the broadcasts stream smoothly or the service endures more complaints, the Christmas Day games could be a key factor in Netflix’s potential future with the NFL.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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