The heavyweight boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was watched by an estimated 60 million households worldwide and peaked at 65 million “simultaneous streams,” according to data shared by Netflix.
The broadcaster said further data, including total viewer numbers, will be released in the coming days. Netflix also said that 50 million households worldwide watched the Serrano vs. Taylor co-main event live, and that once the final results are tallied, it could become the most-watched women’s professional sports event in U.S. history. “It’s highly likely,” the broadcaster predicted.
On the main card, Paul, 27, won a unanimous decision over former world heavyweight champion Tyson, 58, after eight rounds.
According to Netflix, Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 will be the “largest boxing gate outside of Las Vegas in U.S. history,” with Paul vs. Tyson gate grossing over $18 million and “doubling the previous mixed martial arts Texas gate record.” ”. He surpassed Canelo Alvarez’s $9 million record in both boxing and mixed martial arts. ”
In addition to Paul vs. Tyson, the main card will also feature a highly acclaimed rematch between undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano, with Taylor in a controversial unanimous decision. Defeated Serrano again by match decision. Taylor previously won a split decision in the first bout between the two. Other bouts included a split draw between Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos for the WBC welterweight world title, and Neeraj Goyat’s unanimous decision victory over Winderson Nunes.
The event follows Netflix’s stand-up specials with Chris Rock and Joe Rogan, the golf tournament Netflix Cup and tennis event Netflix Slam, and the Love Is Blind Season 4 reunion special. It’s the latest in a series of live event initiatives. Next, the streamer will broadcast two NFL games live on Christmas Day 2024, and WWE’s flagship weekly live show “Raw” will move to Netflix in January.
It’s difficult to accurately compare Paul vs. Tyson to other Netflix live events in terms of viewership, as Netflix doesn’t typically publish regular viewership information outside of its weekly global top 10 list.
However, the Logan special stayed on the English TV Global Top 10 list for two weeks, receiving 2.5 million views in the first week and 2.9 million views in the second week, before being dropped from the list. It was previously reported. Similarly, Rock’s special stayed on the Global Top 10 chart for a week, but this was before Netflix started reporting views rather than hours watched. The Rock special was watched for 17.79 million hours that week. If the running time is 69 minutes or 1.15 hours, and Netflix defines views as total viewing time divided by total running time (in hours), that’s approximately 15.47 million views. Other events, such as the “Love Is Blind” live reunion, did not make the World Top 10 list or the US Top 10 list.
The Paul vs. Tyson Friday fight card, the biggest live event ever produced by Netflix, was plagued by technical issues as it progressed, with many users complaining about lag and buffering issues. Users had previously had similar issues with other Netflix live events. For example, the aforementioned “Love Is Blind” reunion special was only watched live by a small number of subscribers and ultimately wasn’t made available for full viewing on the platform until the day after it was scheduled to air.
