What the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Streaming Issues Mean for Netflix’s NFL Games

Netflix is announcing massive streaming numbers for its Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight from over the weekend. However, the streaming service also suffered a technical knockout thanks to buffering and crash issues, and it’s raised questions among viewers and advertisers as the company’s two exclusive NFL Christmas games loom.

The streaming giant has a lot of positives to take from the Nov. 15 fight, which showcased the 27-year-old Paul taking down the 58-year-old Tyson in a unanimous decision. According to the streamer, the event received 108 million live viewers globally. Netflix said those numbers made the boxing match the most-streamed sporting event ever, peaking at 65 million concurrent streams.

Meanwhile, the lead-in fight showcasing Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor received 74 million live viewers globally and became the most-watched professional women’s sports event in U.S. history with a 47 million average minute audience, according to Netflix.

However, the stream was also plagued by connectivity issues and buffering.

As noted by The New York Times, Downdetector, which tracks reports of internet disruptions, received more than 500,000 reports that viewers were having problems streaming on Netflix. The streaming issues have also led to a headline-grabbing class-action lawsuit by an unsatisfied viewer. And the complaints were so prevalent that Netflix even acknowledged the troubles on its social account:

60 million households around the world tuned in live to watch Paul vs. Tyson!

The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes. pic.twitter.com/kA8LjfAJSk

— Netflix (@netflix) November 16, 2024

Given the issues, the streaming experience for NFL Christmas Day games, as well as Netflix’s other upcoming live events including WWE Monday Night RAW and John Mulaney’s live variety show, is top of mind with advertisers and viewers.

Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, noted that this isn’t a first for Netflix, with the streamer having issues with live programming reliability in the past. For instance, the streamer had to delay a live Love Is Blind reunion in 2023 due to technical issues, later airing a taped version of the show.

“Clearly, they were not able to learn from their past mistakes to get it right for this high-profile live event, and in just a few weeks’ time, they’re bound to have another hugely high-profile event, which is the NFL on Christmas Day,” Proulx said, adding that the recent announcement of Beyoncé performing at the Christmas Day halftime show will bring even more viewers.

“The big question remains: Can they get it right on the third time?” Proulx said.

What advertisers are thinking

Netflix’s NFL Christmas game ad inventory is sold out, and media buyers with clients advertising in the games aren’t balking—but the streamer’s past track record isn’t being ignored.

“I do think now there’s enough of a track record that we definitely do need reassurances,” a buyer at a major holding company with clients in the game told ADWEEK on the condition of anonymity. “I have no doubt that they are doing everything they can and making whatever investments are needed between now and December 25 to get it ready.”

Another media buyer with clients in the game said Netflix had been in contact following the streaming issues, saying the unprecedented audience was behind the glitches.

“They’re all optimistic that they’ll have the resources ready to go for that, and there won’t be any glitches at all in the grand scheme of things,” the second buyer said. “So we’ll see how that ends up going, but you can be sure that there’s a lot of pressure coming down on them for that not to happen again.”

Netflix did not have a comment.

Ultimately, ADWEEK spoke with three media buyers on the condition of anonymity who had clients in the game, and all of them were confident the NFL streams wouldn’t have issues on game day. Among the reasons, they pointed to Netflix going into those games with a production partner in CBS, NFL viewership being more predictable than a boxing match, and Netflix guaranteeing viewership and bringing on Nielsen for measurement.

Though Netflix said the Paul–Tyson fight received around 108 million viewers, ADWEEK previously learned that Netflix was estimating a significantly lower audience of around 23 million for the NFL games.

Of course, viewers’ thoughts are another issue. According to a recent survey of 3,000 NFL fans from Casino.org, 71% don’t consider Netflix a reliable platform for live sports streaming.

Still, there’s reason for optimism.

Are you ready for some football?

The streamer has pulled off successful live events before, including the Tom Brady roast from earlier this year. The roast just had significantly lower viewership than the Paul–Tyson fight, with around 2 million views for its debut.

A source familiar with the matter noted to ADWEEK that Netflix has its fundamental infrastructure in place and is optimizing its systems and adding more capacity to make improvements, ensuring it will be prepared for the increased audiences for the NFL as well as the Beyoncé halftime show.

Netflix has also reportedly already been in contact with the NFL and reassured the league to its satisfaction. Plus, Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, said during Netflix’s International Showcase this week that the streamer was “very ready” for the games.

“They had more success than they were expecting. It overloaded the servers,” Dan Larkman, CEO at programmatic CTV company Keynes Digital, told ADWEEK about the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson match. “It’s actually a massive positive for them.”

In addition, the predictability of the NFL will play in Netflix’s favor.

“The NFL is more of a standard sport, has its standard breaks, and when people tune in and tune out will be more consistent,” Adam Schwartz, svp, director of video investment, sports at Horizon Media, told ADWEEK. “Now that they’ve had this experience with boxing, they’ll learn from it because they certainly have the technology to support live events moving forward.”

The games could also give Netflix the opportunity to engage with consumers in ways the boxing match didn’t, according to Frank Maguire, vp of insights, strategy, and sustainability at Sharethrough, an Equativ company.

“It’ll be interesting to see how they integrate that concept of shoppable on Christmas,” Maguire said. “It can often be a good way of integrating new kinds of attention-grabbing formats that are relevant to the consumer and also engaging.”

Despite any streaming issues, several experts kept pointing out that Netflix still received a massive and engaged audience, which will likely be there on Christmas Day.

Proulx put it in perspective, saying Netflix’s Jake Paul and Mike Tyson streaming hiccups don’t equate to “a moment where the industry is going to reverse course” from digital in favor of linear.

“Streaming, relatively speaking, is still something that is emerging, and especially with live programming, it is new territory that the industry at large is working through, figuring it out, and will get there. I have no doubt about that,” Proulx said. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be bumps along the road in that journey.”