Billed as a “must-see boxing mega-event” by Netflix, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul’s fight with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson wasn’t exactly a “Thrilla in Manila.”
While the boxing itself left many spectators confused and disappointed, Netflix’s stream of the event only appeared to make things worse, with fans facing prolonged buffering, poor image quality, and audio issues throughout the night.
The broadcast team also had its own audio troubles, with heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield seemingly unable to hear presenter Kate Scott through his headphones.
So many viewers flocked to X to voice their displeasure about the service — and to talk up X — that it seems Elon Musk’s platform may have been the real winner of the night.
“If Netflix doesn’t fix this buffering issue, this will go down as one of the biggest fails in all of tv/streaming history,” one user wrote.
“Soon the @X servers will be buffering due to the complaints of @netflix buffering,” another joked.
“The biggest winner from today’s fight isn’t Mike Tyson, Jake Paul or even Netflix. It’s X,” a third said.
Many users also began posting “#unwatchable.”
There were around 90,000 reports of issues with Netflix at the height of the problem, according to Downdetector.
The event, which took place at the Dallas Cowboys’ home AT&T Stadium, came as part of Netflix’s increasing push into live sports.
The streaming platform has been investing billions in live programming, including pro wrestling shows and NFL games, as it targets its growing ads business.
The company said this week that it now had 70 million ad-supported users.
Business Insider has contacted Netflix for comment.
In Friday’s fight, Paul defeated former undisputed heavyweight world champion Tyson via unanimous decision.
The night also saw Katie Taylor take on Amanda Serrano for the Undisputed Super Lightweight World Championship in a co-main event, with Taylor coming out on top in a controversial points win.
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