A Florida man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Netflix over the poor streaming quality that disrupted millions of viewers during the highly anticipated boxing match between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and YouTube star Jake Paul on Friday night.
Ronald "Blue" Denton, of Hillsborough County, Florida, has claimed that Netflix violated its contract by allowing frequent glitches, according to TMZ. The lawsuit, filed in Florida state court, is seeking damages of no less than $50 million. "60 million Americans were hyped to see 'Iron' Mike Tyson, 'The Baddest Man on the Planet' versus Youtuber-turner-prizefighter Jake Paul. What they saw was 'The Baddest Streaming on Planet,'" the bombshell lawsuit claims.
Netflix Dragged to Court
It was claimed that several viewers missed parts of the fight because of the streaming interruptions. "Netflix customers experienced massive streaming issues and should have known better because it's happened before. They were woefully ill-prepared," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit pointed to "over 100,000 online complaints," alleging that " "boxing fans, along with the average Americans wanting to see a legend in what would most likely be his last fight, were faced with legendary problems, including: no access, streaming glitches and buffering issues."
During the match, many viewers turned to social media to voice their frustrations about the streaming and buffering issues both before and during the fight.
Data from the website Down Detector revealed that nearly 85,000 viewers reported problems with outages or streaming issues in the lead-up to the event.
Viewer Fury
The fight was set for eight two-minute rounds, unlike the typical three-minute rounds and 10 to 12 rounds seen in most professional bouts. Paul emerged victorious with a unanimous decision.
Netflix reported on Saturday that the fight attracted a global audience of 60 million viewers, with a peak of 65 million concurrent streams.
The streaming service also said that nearly 50 million households tuned in for the co-main event, where Katie Taylor retained her undisputed super lightweight championship against Amanda Serrano in a controversial decision.
Netflix announced it would release more viewership data, including the total number of viewers, later this week.
The fight between YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, marked Netflix's largest live sports event to date. It also served as a test for the platform's ability to manage high audience demand, especially with the NFL and WWE events upcoming.
The match was streamed worldwide to Netflix's 280 million subscribers at no extra charge.
