In a groundbreaking move, Netflix entered the live-streaming arena in November with the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match.
Drawing 108 million global viewers, the fight smashed records and underscored Netflix’s potential in the live event space.
The platform followed up with two NFL Christmas Day games and WWE Monday Night Raw on January 20, 2025, cementing its foray into sports and live programming.
The fourth quarter of 2024 marked Netflix’s strongest performance to date. The company added 19 million subscribers and reported 10.25 billion dollars in revenue, surpassing Wall Street’s 10.1 billion-dollar projections.
The Tyson-Paul fight, alongside NFL games and Squid Game Season 2, ranked among the most streamed events during the quarter.
Despite this success, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters downplayed the impact of the boxing match, attributing the growth to the platform’s broader content offerings.
This sparked a response from Jake Paul, who challenged Peters‘ remarks.
Jake Paul pushes back
Jake Paul, known for his outspoken persona, took issue with Peters’ comments.
Sharing a Sports Business Journal article, Paul highlighted research showing that Netflix’s NFL Christmas Day games drove higher subscription growth than the Tyson-Paul fight.
The NFL games helped Netflix achieve its best streaming share since July 2023, with 656,000 new subscribers in December alone.
Paul dismissed the comparisons, calling them inaccurate.
“Not close,” he captioned his Instagram post.
The boxer-turned-creator made it clear he believes his fight played a pivotal role in Netflix’s record-breaking quarter.
In response, Peters acknowledged that live-streaming events like the Tyson-Paul fight and NFL games brought in subscribers but argued they stayed because of Netflix’s robust content library.
“It’s the whole service working together,” Peters told Media Play News.
Netflix’s entry into live streaming has opened new opportunities, but balancing relationships with high-profile athletes like Jake Paul remains crucial.
As the streaming giant explores live sports to attract subscribers, its ability to combine major events with compelling content will shape its future in this competitive space.
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