Tyson vs. Paul Fight Attracts 60 Million Viewers (and Technical Issues)

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Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s heavyweight clash may have smashed viewer records, but technical issues don't bode well for Netflix’s upcoming push into sports.

Netflix says 60 million households watched the Paul versus Tyson main event live around the world, with a peak of 65 million concurrent streams.

The event, held at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, pitted the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion against the 27-year-old YouTube influencer. It was free to watch for all of the streaming giant’s 283 million subscribers.

Netflix says 50 million households also tuned in live for the co-main event of Serrano versus Taylor 2, potentially making it one of most most-watched women’s sporting events in US history.

However many users took to social networks such as X or Reddit to complain about issues around freezes, loss of sound, and slow reload times. These technical mishaps may prove highly consequential for Netflix; the streaming giant is scheduled to host several more high-profile sporting events in the coming months.

Netflix plans to stream two NFL games on Christmas Day, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers go head-to-head before the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. The New York Post reports that the streaming giant paid around $150 million for the rights to the Christmas Day NFL games.

Some are pessimistic. NFL commentator Clay Travis tweeted about the Netflix fight: "This is a disaster for Netflix," adding: "They have no chance of successfully airing a Chiefs-Steelers Christmas Day NFL game based on this performance."

Netflix is also set to start streaming World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) “Raw” in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Latin America from Jan. 6 onward, a partnership that Wired says may cost the streaming giant $6 billion over its lifetime.

Though Netflix’s team is undoubtedly under pressure ahead of Christmas, many of Netflix’s rivals have already made successful forays in the world of sports streaming with minimal hitches. Amazon Prime Video has been airing Thursday Night Football since September 2022.