The recent boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, streamed exclusively on Netflix, was supposed to mark a new era for the streaming giant in live sports broadcasting.
Instead, it has opened the door to a courtroom drama that could have lasting implications for how streaming platforms handle high-profile events.
TMZ reports that a disgruntled fan has essentially filed a lawsuit because the live stream of the highly anticipated fight sucked. Buffering and pixelization issues plagued the broadcast, and fans were all over social media complaining about it.
Court documents show that one Ronald “Blue” Denton filed the suit in Florida because, well … Florida man.
Denton maintains that he and other boxing fans “were faced with legendary problems, including: no access, streaming glitches, and buffering issues.”
Suing Netflix
The Paul-Tyson fight quickly turned from a celebration of boxing into a display of technological shortcomings.
Complaints flooded social media platforms about buffering issues, glitches, and outright inability to access the stream, marring what was meant to be a monumental event in Netflix’s foray into live sports. Just by way of example – one of the guys on our team here at BIS ended up watching the fight in a crowded room on a tiny iPhone.
Since that disaster, the company’s reaction itself has started to stick in the craw of viewers who had to suffer through the event.
CTO Elizabeth Stone said Netflix doesn’t “want to dismiss the poor experience of some members,” but they “still consider this event a huge success.”
The company even posted a cheeky response saying the fight was so popular that it had “our buffering systems on the ropes.”
RELATED: Rumor Mill: Did Mike Tyson And Jake Paul ‘Legally’ Agree To Rig The Fight?
Shots Fired With A Lawsuit … Or Three
The fight wasn’t a success by any measure. Aside from the poor streaming experience for fans, both boxers clearly were not interested in hitting their opponent very hard. It was little more than a glorified exhibition.
Having to now deal with lawsuits might take Netflix out of the joking mood.
Not only is the company facing the fan lawsuit over the Tyson-Paul fight but they were also hit with two other filings – a lawsuit related to LeBron James’ upcoming film Rez Ball and another involving Meta Platforms.
For Netflix, the Tyson-Paul lawsuit should serve as a wake-up call. As they pivot towards live sports and more interactive content, ensuring their technical infrastructure can support the shift is paramount.
Friday night’s debacle could be a lesson learned in real-time, but only if Netflix uses it to bolster its live-streaming capabilities.
More about:Boxing News
Read This Next
