Mike Tyson v Jake Paul bout draws record numbers for Netflix

The highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson has already secured its place in the record books.

Netflix said 60 million households worldwide tuned in as Jake Paul defeated Mike Tyson, with the event peaking at 65 million streams. The subscription streaming service also said 50 million households watched Katie Taylor take on Amanda Serrano, making it the most-watched professional women’s sporting event in US history.

The fight was also streamed in more than 6000 bars and restaurants in the US, setting the record for the sport’s largest commercial distribution.

“The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes,” Netflix posted on X Saturday.

The fight’s promoter, Most Valuable Promotions, which is co-owned by Paul, told CNBC 72,300 attended the Friday night bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys stadium has a seating capacity of 80,000.

Gate receipts for the fight surpassed 18 million in revenue, the promoter said.

It was the biggest boxing gate in history outside of Nevada. The previous record was $US9 million ($13.9m) in gate receipts for the 2021 fight between Canelo Álvarez and Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium.

MVP said the gate is also higher than for any non-Las Vegas UFC fight, other than Conor McGregor versus Eddie Alvarez in New York City in 2016.

The fight dominated the social conversation, with #PaulTyson becoming the number one trending topic on X, formerly Twitter.

It wasn’t all good news for Netflix, however. Many viewers experienced buffering issues, streaming glitches and low-resolution video, disrupting their ability to watch the fight.

Data from Downdetector showed people reporting issues throughout the night, with outages peaking at more than 95,000 around 11 p.m. ET.

Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Friday that both Tyson and Paul will make eight figures from this fight and Taylor and Serrano will also have record paydays for women’s boxing.

The fight between Paul, a 27-year-old YouTube influencer-turned-boxer and Tyson, a 58-year-old boxing legend aired on Netflix, free to subscribers.

The event also featured one of the most anticipated women’s boxing rematches in history: undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor versus unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano.

Netflix has upward of 283 million paid memberships in more than 190 countries. The bout was an important test for the streamer as it ventures deeper into the sports space and as boxing sidesteps the pay-per-view model.

“Numbers don’t lie,” Paul said Wednesday at a press conference for the fight. “People want to see this and that’s an amazing accomplishment. … This is a statement that we had the biggest live gate outside of Vegas in US boxing history.”

Tickets for the fight on Friday ranged on StubHub from about $US58 ($90) to $US1500 ($2323) apiece. MVP has also sold higher-end packages, including a $US2m ($3.1m) VIP experience which comes with ringside seats. The promotions company said its 375 VIP seats sold out.

For comparison, Vegas’ biggest fight in history occurred in 2015 between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. That fight took in more than $US72 million ($111.4), according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.