During the highly anticipated boxing match between boxing legend Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, Netflix faced significant streaming issues. These problems were so severe that they raised concerns for the NFL, which was set to stream its upcoming games exclusively on the platform on Christmas Day. Buffering issues plagued fans as they tuned in to watch this historic matchup between one of the sport's greats and its rising star on Friday. Social media was flooded with complaints, and a lawsuit was even filed accusing the streaming platform of "breach of contract."
Netflix's Response
Netflix addressed the issues in a statement on Monday. Elizabeth Stone, a Netflix executive, said, "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 on social media about the quality issues. 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."User Experience vs. NFL's Concerns
While company executives might have viewed the event as a "huge success," the user experience was enough for the NFL to reach out with concern. The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, attended an NFL International Series game and was made aware of the issues. ESPN reported that the NFL checked in with Netflix following the Tyson-Paul fight to ask about the problems and assess the likelihood of them repeating on Christmas. Netflix said the fight reached 60 million homes, and part of the explanation to the league was that the unprecedented scale of broadcasting a live sporting event contributed to some of the challenges.Milestones Reached Despite Issues
Despite the streaming issues, Friday's bout did reach several milestones. According to Most Valuable Promotions, the fight had over 108 million live global viewers, making it the most-streamed sporting event ever. It was also the highest-grossing combat sports event in Texas at $18.1 million. These achievements show the potential of the event despite the technical difficulties.Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.