Netflix Inc.’s foray into live sports streaming with the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul drew a massive global audience that peaked at 65 million viewers but resulted in thousands of complaints from viewers about connection problems and frozen screens.
“We crashed the site,” said Paul, 27, after claiming victory over the 58-year-old Tyson. “This is the biggest event.”
In an internal company memo seen by Bloomberg News, Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone said the bout drew a maximum of 65 million viewers at any one time, rivaling some of the most-watched sporting events.
Some of those viewers took to social media to vent their frustration over glitches in streaming the highly-anticipated showdown. More than 100,000 users reported network issues on the Downdetector website throughout the livestreaming, commenting on slow buffering and network issues. Even boxer Evander Holyfield was struggling to hear the host of the show when he was asked about his infamous fight with Tyson.
Netflix declined to comment on the overall outcome of the event.
The company’s biggest live-streaming event is part of its ambition to boost its fledgling advertising business. Netflix has been investing in its live-event capabilities for mega spectacles like the boxing match after earlier livestreaming missteps such as the Love Is Blind reunion debacle. The platform ran a teaser for upcoming NFL games on Christmas Day during Friday’s bout.
The match between former heavyweight champion Tyson and Youtuber-turned-boxer Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, failed to live up to the hype, with critics calling it a lackluster bout. The judges unanimously decided that Paul won the fight after eight rounds without a knockout.
Tyson came out of retirement to face Paul, with the match expected to be a key driver of subscriptions for Netflix. There is a potential for 10 million gains overall in the fourth quarter, 11% ahead of consensus, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Before the match, users on social media site X complained they were unable to stream the event, with one thanking Netflix sarcastically for “bringing us back to the glorious days of dial-up internet.”
“Seriously? You didn’t make sure you wouldn’t have server issues?” a user named TheYounger posted in response to a post by Netflix advertising the fight.