Published: November 20, 2024

Netflix is ​​ready to prove itself after Tyson/Paul live streaming issues

Movieguide® Contributor

After 90,000 people reported streaming issues during the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight last Friday, Netflix is ready to prove himself with two live NFL games next month.

“On Christmas Day, the service will stream back-to-back games: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. ET and Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET. Beyoncé will perform during halftime of the second competition, attracting devoted fans and potentially causing a sudden surge in viewership, which may present technical challenges. The biggest question now is whether Netflix’s servers can also work on that day,” Sportico reported November 18.

“We feel very ready and excited for the NFL at Christmas,” Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria said Monday.

Downdetector.com reported 90,000 users experiencing issues during the Tyson-Paul fight. Paul saw it positively. “We crashed the site!” » he shouted. However, many viewers who had an unpleasant viewing experience did not view the accident as a good thing.

“Longtime broadcaster Dan Patrick called the production “unprofessional,” while Fox’s NFL pregame show on Sunday mocked Netflix’s frequent buffering issues. “So, how was everyone’s night?” :),’ Peacock’s official X account has been released; this service largely held up during the record exclusive broadcast of an NFL playoff game in January,” Sportico reported.

“@netflix should not have had the opportunity to host something of this magnitude,” one viewer said. job. “Constant lagging and buffering. The nastiest fight night we’ve ever seen.

With 60 million viewers, ensuring a seamless viewing experience is no easy feat. Sportico notes that it is not uncommon for such things to happen and that companies spend months preparing to avoid such problems.

“This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team met brilliantly by prioritizing stream stability for the majority of viewers,” said Elizabeth Stone, Netflix CTO. “We do not want to ignore the bad experience of some members and know that we can improve, but we nevertheless consider this event a huge success. »

Netflix is ​​paying $150 million for the two Christmas Day games, and the NFL is excited about the venture since Netflix’s global reach is 300 million. Although Netflix will be primarily responsible for the streaming event, CBS Sports will handle some of the production.

LEARN MORE: NUMBER OF NETFLIX AD-TIER SUBSCRIBERS ALMOST DOUBLES IN FOUR MONTHS

“In some ways, the less global nature of American football compared to boxing could make handling match issues simpler, although the concentration of viewers in the United States could also trigger problems,” Sportico reported. “Christmas Day traditionally sees fewer internet users; However, owners of new computers and digital devices are known to overwhelm services when downloading updates for their gifts or installing apps and games.

Last year, the NFL aired three Christmas games on ABC, CBS and Fox. They averaged 28.7 million views.

Fox 10 reported that many fans are worried about Netflix’s ability to deliver on their Christmas promises.

“If the Steelers Chiefs Christmas game on #Netflix looks like this, there will be overturned tables with half-eaten Christmas hams all over Western Pennsylvania…” tweeted Randy Baumann, a radio host Pittsburgh Sports.

Netflix’s streaming problems did not deter investors, however, and its stock rose 2% on Monday.

Jason Helfstein, head of internet research at Oppenheimer, estimated that the fight’s viewership was about twice what Netflix expected, which likely caused buffering issues. He says it’s a “high quality issue (that) can be easily resolved by Christmas Day.”

LEARN MORE: HOW DID NETFLIX WIN THE STREAMING WARS?