Netflix sued over Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight
Following the debacle surrounding this weekend’s streaming of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight, a Netflix subscriber is taking legal action against the company.
A lawsuit filed in Florida by Ronald “Blue” Denton accuses Netflix of “breach of contract” for persistent glitching and buffering during last week’s fight, according to TMZ.
In a statement from the company, Netflix acknowledged the poor quality of its stream during the highly anticipated fight.
“This unprecedented scale presented many technical challenges, which the launch team addressed brilliantly by prioritizing stream stability for the majority of viewers,” said Netflix President Elizabeth Stone.
‘I’m sure many of you have seen the talk in the press and on social media about the quality issues.
‘We do not want to ignore the bad experiences of some members and know that there is room for improvement, but still consider this event a great success.’
Netflix is being sued by a subscriber over the poor quality of the Tyson-Paul fight stream
The streamer revealed on Tuesday that last Friday’s fight attracted 108 million viewers worldwide, making it “the most streamed sporting event ever.”
Netflix added that viewership in the United States peaked at 65 million concurrent households — and that about 56 percent of all TV viewers in the country tuned in to the Tyson-Paul fight between midnight and 1 a.m. Eastern Time .
Additionally, the co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano drew 74 million live viewers worldwide, making it the most-watched women’s professional sporting event in U.S. history.
But despite these figures, at least 85,000 viewers reported problems, according to Detector.
The technical problems did not stop with the customer. The broadcast itself also had a number of problems.
At one point, a panelist of fighters – including Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield – couldn’t hear host Kate Scott’s questions.
Ultimately, Lewis had to repeat those questions in Holyfield’s ear.
Later in the broadcast, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had his microphone cut out, forcing him to borrow another from one of his former players, Michael Irvin.
The streamer will air an NFL doubleheader during the upcoming Christmas holiday
The signs aren’t great for Netflix, which will air its first NFL game this holiday season.
Netflix will air a double header on Christmas Day, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens versus the Houston Texans.
Fans have already started to fear the worst for these streams – with radio host Howard Stern addressing it on his show.
“You know, I don’t know how this stuff works, but you gotta make it work. … But if you mess up people’s football, there will be hell to pay,” Stern said.