Netflix’s Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight serves as a preview of live sports ventures

The fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will be “available to all Netflix subscribers, rather than broadcast via pay-per-view,” which is immediately “a step away from the typical boxing model”Getty Images

According to the London INDEPENDENT, Netflix wants to become a ‘game-changer’ in the sports world by broadcasting the exclusive Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match live tonight. The Tyson vs. Paul fight is “one of the most controversial fights in recent history” and could “be the norm in the months and years to come.” The streaming service has dabbled in live content before, but only twice in the sports world with ‘The Netflix Cup’ and ‘The Netflix Slam’. The fight will be “available to all Netflix subscribers, rather than broadcast on pay-per-view,” which is immediately “a step away from the typical boxing model.” In Britain in recent years, fight fans have “needed subscriptions” to Sky Sports, TNT Sports and DAZN to “catch up on all the big matches, which often involved additional pay-per-view fees.” In the US, “the same has largely been the case with ESPN and Fox.” Netflix “tends to be a basic subscription in most households,” and that fact – “combined with the intergenerational interest in Paul versus Tyson – is expected to deliver a viewership in the double digits of millions.” Paul “predicts” 25 million viewers, and even if he is wrong, “the reality will certainly still be unprecedented.” The most watched boxing match of all time was Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015, which generated 4.6 million pay-per-view buys in the US. And if ‘The Netflix Cup’ and ‘Slam’ seemed like trials, Paul vs Tyson “feels like something more.” It “feels like it could open the floodgates” (London INDEPENDENT, 14/11).

GENERATIONS collide: REUTERS’ Tennery & Chmielewski wrote that the fight is Netflix’s “latest one-two punch” as the media giant “hopes to cash in on sports’ sprint to streaming.” The intergenerational showdown has “all the hallmarks of a crossover hit,” with 58-year-old Tyson “bringing in the old guard” and 27-year-old Paul, who found early fame on YouTube, “appealing to the younger screen enthusiasts.” -with social media junkies.” It could be a “welcome change for American boxing fans who are used to spending extra money to watch big matches.” The fight at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium – the venue’s first live boxing event – ​​“works in favor of Netflix’s strategy of offering proprietary content that viewers can’t find anywhere else.” While the fight “will not have traditional advertising,” there are sponsors whose messages “will be part of the live-streamed event.” Former CBS Sports President Neal Pilson said the event is the “sign of an enduring love affair between sports and streaming,” although he predicts that “streaming and traditional broadcasting will coexist for the foreseeable future” (REUTERS, 11/14).

LANDMARK EVENT: In LA, Wendy Lee noted that the fight is “by far” Netflix’s biggest sporting event to date, and will likely be its highest-profile livestreaming event yet. It marks a “milestone” for Netflix’s efforts to expand its live programming as it “seeks to fuel its growing advertising business.” Analysts will be “keeping a close eye” on how many of Netflix’s 283 million global subscribers tune in. Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, said the “hope” is that “tens of millions of people will tune into Netflix for the fight.” Bidarian “expects in-person ticket sales to generate more than” $16 million (LA TIMES, 11/14). AP’s Joe Reedy writes that Paul and Tyson “aren’t the only ones with high stakes” going into tonight’s event. For Netflix, it’s an “opportunity to ensure it can meet audience demand with the NFL and WWE on the horizon” (AP, 11/15).

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