Mike Tyson (black gloves) fights Jake Paul (silver gloves) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 15, 2024.
Kevin Jairaj | Usa Today Sports Via Reuters Con
Friday’s highly anticipated boxing match between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will be remembered for more than its unique card.
The bout shown on Netflix was the most-streamed global sporting event ever with 65 million live concurrent streams and 108 million total live viewers around the world, according to a Netflix release. The Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor fight before the Tyson-Paul match averaged 74 million live global viewers, the most-watched professional women’s sporting event ever in the U.S. with 47 million viewers, the company said.
The event notched several other wins, including being the biggest boxing gate in history outside of Nevada.
Both Tyson and Paul made 10-figure paydays, according to Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, whose company promoted the fight. Serrano and Taylor received record pay for women’s boxing, he said.
This event was crucial for Netflix as it prepares for its Christmas Day stream of National Football League games, its first time showing the most-popular sport in the U.S. live. Viewers complained of buffering issues, but Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said she is not concerned about the company’s ability to stream the NFL games.
Netflix is not the first streamer to wade into live sports. Amazon has carried Thursday Night Football games since 2022, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock streamed an NFL playoff game last season.
Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
