Netflix launches live sports coverage of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight

About two and a half years ago in Costa Rica, Jake Paul, a YouTube star turned professional boxer, had a vision.

Paul claims that during an ayahuasca ceremony he saw himself fighting former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson while millions of children watched the fight on television and devices.

On Friday, that dream will come true in the first professional boxing match to be broadcast live on Netflix. The fight is by far the California streaming giant’s biggest sporting event in Los Gatos and will likely be its most notable live event to date.

It’s a major milestone in Netflix’s efforts to expand its live-streaming offerings as it tries to boost its growing advertising business. Netflix — best known for shows like “Bridgerton” and “Stranger Things” — recently said its cheapest ad-supported tier had reached 70 million monthly active users, up from 40 million in May. Live streaming is critical to attracting millions of viewers at once, which is what advertisers want.

Analysts will be keeping a close eye on how many of Netflix’s 283 million worldwide subscribers tune in to the Paul-Tyson fight, which pits the 27-year-old content creator against the tough 58-year-old boxer. Major boxing matches tend to be broadcast more exclusively, often through pay-per-view or sports streaming services.

“With Netflix, a big part of our appeal is distribution and reach around the world,” said Brandon Rigg, vice president of non-fiction and sports at Netflix. “It’s an incredible opportunity where everyone can tune in at the same time and have the same experience watching the same fight together.”

Netflix began streaming live events last year. The initiative began with Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, Rock’s first comedy special since actor Will Smith slapped him at the 2022 Academy Awards. To date, Rock’s special has received over 23 million views.

Since then, the streamer has hosted several live events, including tennis and golf exhibition matches, a Tom Brady comedy routine, a hot dog eating contest and the SAG Awards. Netflix will be streaming two NFL football games this Christmas.

The fight between Paul and Tyson, which will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is a partnership between Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions, the company Paul co-founded. There will be four fights on the undercard, starting at 2:30 p.m., and four more fights on the main card, starting at 5 p.m., with the finale being Paul vs. Tyson.

The event was originally scheduled for July 20, but was moved to November 15 after Tyson suffered an ulcer outbreak.

Nakisa Badarian Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, said he hopes tens of millions of people will tune into Netflix to watch the fight. Bidarian expects personal ticket sales to bring in more than $16 million.

“Our brand will be seen by a huge audience…Jake and I’s brand at this unique event, and it will create great brand value for us in the future,” Bidarian said.

The idea for Paul to live-stream wrestling on Netflix came after he worked with the streamer on a documentary about his life. The movie, Untold: Jake Paul, the Problem Child, was among Netflix’s top 10 most-watched films in 20 countries for one to two weeks in 2023, according to the streaming service.

Of the potential opponents being considered for Paul, Netflix was most interested in Tyson, a big name who could appeal to regular boxing fans and viewers outside the sport.

Paul, who grew up in Ohio, initially became famous on YouTube for his destructive antics. He turned professional in 2020 and has since knocked out opponents such as former basketball player Nate Robinson. A fight with Tyson could significantly raise his authority.

“I have the ability to be a fighter, to be a destroyer, to be someone who will do what no one else will do,” Paul says in “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson.” “You can achieve anything you set your mind to with self-belief, hard work and a little bullshit optimism.”

Meanwhile, Tyson is one of the greatest athletes of all time, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion at the age of 20. He has 37 wins in a row, 33 of them by knockout. He also appeared in films such as The Hangover and Ip Man 3.

Sports have been attractive to streaming services, with tech companies spending heavily to acquire them due to their appeal to audiences and advertisers. Amazon Prime Video is home to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” and Apple has MLB’s “Friday Night Baseball” games. Amazon also recently reached an agreement to stream a package of NBA games.

“New content coming out all the time helps them reduce churn,” says Jeffrey Wlodarczak, CEO of Pivotal Research Group. “They try to create content for different demos.”

Buying sports rights can be incredibly expensive, and some analysts are skeptical that some games will be re-watchable. Netflix executives insist that its sports programming choices must make financial sense for the company.

After all, there is precedent for using boxing to attract subscribers. The broadcast of the fights fueled the growth of HBO, which used the sport’s appeal to bring its shows and films to viewers.

“The logical fit between boxing and HBO can certainly be applied to Netflix,” says Brett Sappington, chief analyst at consultancy Sappington Media. “I definitely see parallels.”