Netflix’s live fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, which has been highly anticipated and delayed several times, is already facing issues even before they step into the ring.
From the start of the smaller fights happening before the main event at AT&T Stadium in Texas, Netflix’s stream has been glitchy. The video freezes, the sound cuts out repeatedly, and the quality is often blurry and pixelated when it does come back. While it hasn’t completely crashed like it did during the launch of Luke Cage in 2016, these issues are frustrating for viewers.
Fight fans all over the country are sharing their complaints on social media — to say it nicely.
Advertisement This live stream from #Netflix is horrendous, wrote @Cali_Baba on X/Twitter early on in the multi-fight. Buffering on and off, pixelated image, muffled sound. They wanted the big event, and they are fumbling it. If I had purchased a subscription for this event, I would demand a refund first thing tomorrow.
he said in complaints that were common Friday
Tonight’s fights were Netflix’s biggest attempt yet at live sports under the leadership of Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. But with all the problems viewers faced, Netflix didn’t have anything to say when Deadline asked them about the technical issues.
Even Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, experienced the trouble firsthand. His microphone stopped working in front of more than 80,000 people in the stadium and online as he was praising Netflix. Netflix, which will soon be the home for WWE’s Monday Night Raw, is also set to show live NFL games on Christmas Day.
With hashtags like #NetflixCrash and #unwatchable trending online, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy chose to keep his criticism short and simple.
One of Barstool Sports’ hosts perfectly captured what many fight fans watching from home were feeling.
Before 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul step into the ring for Tyson’s first big fight in nearly 20 years, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are fighting for the IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles. Paul is expected to win against the legendary “Iron Mike.” At the same time, Serrano is seen as the favourite against the Irish fighter in their rematch of the 2022 main event at Madison Square Garden.
Despite all the streaming problems, tonight’s fight had the same vibe as Tyson’s famous matches from the 1980s and 1990s — at least in how it was set up.
Just like old HBO matches, Netflix used the fight to promote itself. There were cameos and ads for shows like Squid Game and Cobra Kai. Big stars like Charlize Theron (Furiosa), Joe Jonas, NBA legend Shaq O’Neal, and NFL legend Rob Gronkowski were spotted sitting near the ring. In a classic move, Netflix also showed interviews from the locker rooms with Paul and Tyson.
One moment that stood out was a lingering shot of Tyson walking away wearing only a jockstrap, with his rear visible.
“We didn’t need to see that butt shot,” joked Rosie Perez, known as the “First Lady of Boxing,” who gave commentary alongside Cedric the Entertainer and others.
For some viewers, that shot stayed frozen—both on their screens and in their memories.
Or as Flavor Flav from Public Enemy so perfectly said it:
Source: Deadline