Everyone Hates Netflix

Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024

Netflix landed the streaming rights to one of the most talked about sporting events of the modern era: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.

Their eight-round heavyweight contest took place in front of more than 70,000 fight fans on Friday night (Nov. 15, 2024) inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Unfortunately, thousands of viewers tuning in from the comfort of their own homes were left in the dark.

Literally.

Those streamers who weren’t blacked out had their feeds frozen in time, a disastrous outcome for what is supposed to be the industry leader in streaming — and one of the frontrunners for the UFC broadcast rights in early 2025.

Downdetector, which tracks user-generated reports of internet disruptions, received more than 500,000 complaints from people having streaming issues on Netflix, according to NY Times, which started long before Paul’s unanimous decision victory over Tyson.

Making matters worse was the tone-deaf Twitter account, which completely ignored the streaming issues (and the multitudes of fans who were looking for answers) and kept right on tweeting about how awesome Netflix was during the fights.

It wasn’t awesome.

We had some amazing in-ring battles, like the super lightweight title rematch between longtime rivals Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, but the broadcast pacing was nothing short of excruciating and the ringside commentary bordered on embarrassing.

Paul’s win over Tyson was nothing to celebrate, either.

The streaming issues extend far beyond the Paul-Tyson boxing card. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) just signed a major rights deal with Netflix and is expected to debut in January, a decision that probably doesn't inspire confidence after last night’s collapse.

Netflix declined to comment.