Netflix has founds itself against the ropes following a its livestream of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match on Friday night.
Taking place in front of around 72,000 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday night, Tyson’s return to the ring for his first professional fight in 19 years was one of the most highly anticipated bouts in the history of the sport.
In fact, Netflix has since reported that the event drew an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally, peaking at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million of those from the U.S. alone, per Variety.
However, rather than seeing the legendary “Iron” Mike Tyson KO a cocky 27-year-old YouTuber, Paul was declared the winner by unanimous judges’ decision following eight two-minute rounds.
Of course, during the night of boxing – which saw a total of seven matches on the card – many viewers were seen staring at a rotating red circle, as they battled with buffering issues during Netflix’s stream.
As a result, not only were many viewers vowing to cancel their subscriptions, but now one viewer has taken legal action
Ronald “Blue” Denton from Hillsborough County, Florida, has filed a lawsuit against the streaming giant for what he claims was an “unwatchable” experience due to severe streaming issues.
Filed in Florida state court this past Monday, the lawsuit not only seeks unspecified monetary damages but also aims for class-action status, potentially roping in other disgruntled subscribers affected by the fiasco.
The complaint accuses Netflix of breach of contract and deceptive trade practices under Florida law, as reported by WFLA-TV. Denton’s argument is rooted in the claim that Netflix was “woefully ill-prepared” to manage the overwhelming viewer demand during the Paul-Tyson showdown.
“Instead of providing the programming its viewers pay for every month, Netflix was completely unprepared and unable to fix the issues,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit sharply criticizes Netflix, referencing their promotional material, stating, “60 million Americans were hyped to see ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ versus YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul. What they saw was ‘The Baddest Streaming on the Planet.’”
This isn’t the first time Netflix has faced issues with live events. Earlier in April 2023, the platform’s “Love Is Blind” reunion special was delayed by 19 hours due to similar streaming troubles, hinting at ongoing challenges within Netflix’s capabilities for handling live broadcasts.
“Netflix customers experienced massive streaming issues and should have known better because it’s happened before,” Denton’s lawsuit states.
As the legal proceedings unfold, Netflix has yet to make a formal response to the allegations, Variety reports.
