Jake Paul vs Tyson bout: Gateway to live sports ventures

Netflix’s foray into live sports streaming saw a blend of success and technical difficulties during its debut event featuring Jake Paul and Mike Tyson last Saturday. 

The boxing match attracted a peak audience of 65 million viewers globally, marking a significant achievement for the platform. However, some users faced issues such as frozen screens and connection errors.

Netflix announced that 60 million households worldwide watched the fight, with streams peaking at 65 million. This positions Netflix as a formidable player in the live sports streaming market. Additionally, about 50 million households tuned in for the co-main event between Ireland’s Katie Taylor and Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano, which 

Netflix claims could be the most-watched professional women’s sporting event in US history.

Despite the success, the event was marred by technical problems, with over 90,000 users reporting issues during the live stream, according to Downdetector. 

Complaints centred on video streaming (87%), server connections (12%), and login issues (1%). The outage, which lasted around six hours in the United States, was resolved by Saturday.

In the ring, Paul emerged victorious over Tyson with a 79-73 decision. After initially struggling, Paul took control from the third round, preventing Tyson from regaining momentum. Paul described the event as a monumental success, acknowledging the site crash as evidence of its impact. A post-fight video from Netflix showed Paul paying respect to Tyson.

The success of the Paul-Tyson event suggests Netflix’s potential to influence the live sports streaming market. However, addressing technical issues is crucial for providing smoother experiences in future events. 

With impressive viewership numbers, Netflix has made a significant entry into sports streaming, but its ability to maintain this momentum remains to be seen.

The Tyson-Paul bout waa “one of the most controversial fights in recent memory” and may "represent the norm in the coming months and years.” The streaming service has “dabbled” in live content before, but only twice in the sports space with “The Netflix Cup” and “The Netflix Slam.” 

The fight will be “available to all Netflix subscribers, rather than airing on pay-per-view,” which immediately “marks a move away from the typical boxing model.” 

In the U.K., fight fans have “needed subscriptions” to Sky Sports, TNT Sports and DAZN in recent years to “keep up with all the major match-ups, with additional pay-per-view fees often involved.” 

In the U.S., the “same has been true across ESPN and Fox for the most part.” Netflix “tends to be a staple subscription in most homes,” and that fact -- “coupled with the intergenerational interest in Paul vs Tyson that took viewership to a whole different level. 

The most-watched boxing match of all time was Floyd Mayweather’s 2015 bout with Manny Pacquiao, which drew 4.6 million pay-per-view buys in the US.

And if “The Netflix Cup” and “Slam” felt like trials, Paul vs Tyson could open the floodgates for Netflix's majir foray into livestteam sports.