Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul was the boxing event to end all boxing events. At least, in 2024. The former, a sports legend, and the latter, a social media sensation, did their parts to build up the hype. Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly come fight night. Fans were disappointed with the quality of the fight, and the ways in which both fighters seemed to be dancing around each other in later rounds. Well, those who got the chance to see the later rounds, that is. Netflix's live stream buffered repeatedly during the fight, and now the platform is being sued.
The suit was filed by Ronald "Blue" Denton. The Florida native claimed that he struggled to watch the fight, along with thousands of others, due to the poor quality of Netflix's stream. He specifically cited "problems such as: no access, streaming glitches, and buffering issues." Denton believed that Netflix breached their contract agreement to stream the fight. He's consequently seeking unspecified damages from the streaming platform. Denton's complaints should come as no surprise to anyone who tried to watch the Mike Tyson Vs. Jake Paul fight themselves.
Netflix Struggled To Broadcast Mike Tyson Vs Jake Paul
Social media was swamped with complaints from users who couldn't tell what was happening in real time. It got so bad, in fact, that Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone sent an email to employees addressing the issues. She acknowledged that there were unforeseen problems with the stream, while at the same time noting that Netflix drew record breaking viewership during the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight. "We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members," Stone explained via email. "Know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success."
While Mike Tyson nor Jake Paul have commented on the streaming debacle, other celebrities have weighed in. Howard Stern, for example, blasted Netflix and urged them to get things under control before their plan to stream football games on Christmas Day. Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul may have resulted in a lawsuit, but a botched NFL broadcast would be, in Stern's mind, an even greater debacle. "You f**k people’s football, there is hell to pay," the radio host told Sirius XM fans. "You better not. I don’t know how this stuff works, but you’ve got to make sure it works."
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