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Netflix's Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson stream marred by buffering, technical difficulties: 'We crashed the site'

jack baer
Staff writer
·5-min read
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 15: (L-R) Melinda Watpoo and Shadasia Green fight during Netflix: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium on November 15, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)
Netflix might be the biggest loser of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)

Jake Paul's boxing match against Mike Tyson on Friday was poised to be Netflix's breakthrough into the world of live sports. It looks like the streamer is headed toward embarrassment instead.

As the main card began at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium, viewers across social media reported buffering issues that made the experience nearly unwatchable. With an unprecedented amount of viewers (for Netflix, at least) tuning in, it appeared the servers just didn't have the bandwidth.

Countless viewers, including this author, reported their streams repeatedly freezing and needing several seconds, if not minutes, to buffer. It was usually faster to just close out the stream and open it back up again. The situation wasn't far off from a "Silicon Valley" subplot.

The low point might have been an interview with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, whose microphone cut out while he was in the process of praising the streamer.

A half-hour later, viewers were treated to a wandering camera showing Mike Tyson's uncovered posterior in the locker room.

Paul himself acknowledged the issue after the fight, a unanimous decision win over Tyson, who certainly looked 58 years old. While crowing about the attention the pair received, Paul bragged "We crashed the site."

Considering Netflix is planning to stream more live events, such as three years of NFL Christmas games and WWE Raw, the night was ominous as well as embarrassing. It also wasn't unprecedented, as Netflix encountered even worse issues during its infamous "Love is Blind" reunion livestream.

The replies to one Netflix tweet do a good job of reflecting the rage toward the streamer, but there were plenty of jokes and discourse on the rest of X. Thousands of users also reported their issues via Downdetector.com.