Netflix survives the NFL Christmas games unscathed after the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fiasco

Netflix survives the NFL Christmas games unscathed after the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fiasco

A month ago, Netflix was on most sports fans’ minds when their glitchy, buffering stream affected the boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. It was a bad gig, but what made it even more ominous was that the streamer was scheduled to air two NFL games 40 days later.

These two games are now complete and we can officially say that Netflix’s reputation for live streaming has remained largely unscathed.

There were some complaints on social media about image quality and an awkward launch with the microphone muted, but nothing came close to the flood of anger that swept the company during the Paul Tyson fight, which resulted in seemingly every user regular Had to endure freezes on the main map. The mishaps were arguably a bigger story than the rather sad fight at the center of the celebrations, in which Paul defeated the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion by unanimous decision.

Netflix has apparently learned its lesson and beefed up its servers while going all out on production value. This included a Beyoncé halftime concert that could easily have passed for a real Super Bowl halftime show.

Both games were decidedly one-sided, as the Kansas City Chiefs never trailed with a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Houston Texans from start to finish with a 31-2 win.

Live streaming has been an ongoing process for Netflix over the past few years. His first foray into a live event was an even bigger disaster than last month’s boxing match, as a “Love is Blind” reunion show failed to materialize last April. The stream was eventually canceled after a 75-minute delay, with the reunion recorded and later broadcast.

The progress is important because broadcasting events live is one of Netflix’s biggest priorities going forward. The reason why: The streamer reported a peak of 65 million concurrent streams for the Paul Tyson fight, making it by far the most-watched fight of the year. The co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano also reportedly reached nearly 50 million households, making it the most-watched women’s sporting event ever broadcast in the United States

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes #15 and Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs talk to a NETFLIX reporter after the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes #15 and Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs talk to a NETFLIX reporter after the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

Many people watched NFL games on Netflix. It went better than Netflix’s last live event. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

The early returns from Netflix’s NFL games are similarly encouraging, with nearly a third of its global subscribers from over 200 countries watching at least part of Wednesday’s earlier game between the Chiefs and Steelers.

There are also many more live events coming up on Netflix, particularly the rights to the next two FIFA Women’s World Cups.

On the NFL’s side, success with Netflix would be significant to two of the league’s biggest priorities, providing both a large international audience and the opportunity to prepare for an increasingly streaming-heavy future. The NFL’s ratings are hardly flagging at the moment, but it won’t pass up the opportunity for another huge revenue stream.

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