60 million people tuned in to watch 58-year-old Mike Tyson fight YouTuber Jake Paul. Unfortunately for viewers (and fortunately for Tyson), there were more glitches than right hooks on their TVs.
Driving the news: Netflix is facing backlash from subscribers after its first major live sporting event was riddled with buffering screens and poor image quality, leading to over 1 million reports of streaming issues across 50 countries.
- The hashtags #Unwatchable and #NetflixCrash were both trending online, with many high-profile viewers taking to social media to air their grievances.
- The lacklustre stream followed a similarly issue-riddled live event for the reality dating show Love Is Blind last April.
Why it matters: The fight was a test of Netflix’s ability to pull off live events, and it didn’t pass with flying colours. With two prime-time NFL games slated for next month and a WWE event on the docket for January, the bungled fight raises concerns that the streamer isn’t ready to tackle live sports.
Big picture: With Netflix becoming an increasingly ad-driven business, live events with lucrative sponsorship opportunities are a big deal. Highly publicized blunders like the Paul-Tyson fight could scare away ad dollars until they prove they can run a glitch-free live stream.—LA