Netflix Admits to 'Technical Challenges' During Tyson-Paul Fight
Netflix's foray into streaming a live professional boxing event was not without its complications, as thousands of viewers who tuned into the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul were met with delays and freezing. But the streamer is aware of the problems and will ostensibly work to streamline the issues, with more live events planned going forward in 2025.
More than 60 million viewers streamed Friday night's fight, which Paul ultimately won over the course of the two eight-minute rounds in a unanimous decision. However, nearly 85,000 viewers experienced problems with outages or streaming leading up to the fight, according to Down Detector, the online platform provides real-time information about the connectivity status of websites and services.
In the wake of the event, Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone delivered a memo to employees, admitting to shortcomings during the "unprecedented" live event.
"This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers," wrote Stone, via Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
"I'm sure many of you have seen the chatter in the press and on social media about the quality issues," Stone continued, adding: "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."
Netflix CTO to employees on streaming issues:
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 16, 2024
“This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers.
I'm sure many of you have seen the chatter in the press and… https://t.co/j6NY5diBq6
Gurman also noted that the fight reportedly peaked at 65 million concurrent viewers, which was up from 1.8 million concurrent streams for the roast of Tom Brady earlier this year.
Though, Netflix also admitted to technical difficulties in a social media post on Saturday. "60 million households around the world tuned in live to watch Paul vs. Tyson!" the company wrote. "The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes."
60 million households around the world tuned in live to watch Paul vs. Tyson!
— Netflix (@netflix) November 16, 2024
The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes. pic.twitter.com/kA8LjfAJSk
Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will become the new home of WWE's Monday Night Raw. In the wake of the Tyson-Paul fight, the streamer has reportedly promised the longtime wrestling promoter that "technical issues will be kept to a minimum" when Raw kicks off.