I am reading the headlines about the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight on 11/15/24, and they’re not pretty: streaming glitches, buffering issues, pixelated video, muffled audio… But I’d like to make a few points.
First, thank you, streaming and Netflix. Unlike traditional pay-per-view events with sky-high costs, this fight was included in Netflix’s standard subscription, which is reasonably priced. That’s a major win for subscribers (and marketers), and I hope this trend continues.
Second, thank you, Internet and streaming, for pulling off what was essentially a fabricated event. Let’s be real: a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, who hadn’t fought professionally in 20 years, going up against 27-year-old Jake Paul, an influencer-turned-boxer? The fact that this fight generated so much buzz is wild.
The streaming experience had its issues, and the criticism in the headlines isn’t unwarranted. But this was Netflix streaming a live event to 280 million homes worldwide—I don't think something of this scale has been done before. For perspective, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime averages 11.86 million viewers. This fight outperformed that by almost 24 times!
As for the fight itself? It felt like a bit of a spectacle—a freak show, even. The last few rounds were tough to watch, but I couldn’t help rooting for Tyson. Despite the bizarre premise, both fighters showed incredible determination, and so did Netflix in broadcasting this event.
This wasn’t perfect, but it was a bold leap forward for streaming live sports and events. The future of streaming continues to shine brighter, and we’ll learn from moments like this.
