All of the buffering complaints didn’t prevent Netflix users from tuning into Jake Paul’s victory by unanimous decision against Mike Tyson on Friday.
The platform announced that 60 million users watched the final fight live, while 50 million watched the first co-main fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor — which will likely make it the most-viewed professional women’s sporting event in United States history, Netflix wrote on social media.
“The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes,” the platform wrote in an X post Saturday.
But the night included plenty of hiccups and issues, with users complaining about buffering throughout the night and sparking concern with Netflix set to host a pair of NFL games on Christmas Day next month.
Down Detector reported 88,000 streaming problems Friday night, with Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy writing on X that it became “unwatchable.”
But for those who were able to use Netflix, they saw Tyson, 58, fall to Paul — a YouTube and rising boxing star — in his first sanctioned fight since 2005, competing despite health concerns that initially prompted the bout to get postponed from July until Friday.
In the co-main event, Taylor defeated Serrano for the second consecutive time on another controversial decision, with all three judges ruling a 95-94 victory for Taylor.
