Netflix’s decision to broadcast a boxing spectacle on November 15 paid off handsomely, as the streamer attracted 1.43 million new subscribers in a single day, according to data from Antenna. The event featured none other than Jake Paul versus the legendary Mike Tyson, along with an Amanda Serrano-Katie Taylor co-headliner. It marked the largest single-day subscriber gain Netflix has seen since 2019, giving the "sweet science" a welcome jolt of relevance.
The Paul-Tyson main event peaked at a staggering 108 million viewers across roughly 60 million households worldwide, reminding skeptics that boxing is far from a “dead sport.” Meanwhile, the Serrano-Taylor bout quietly amassed an impressive 75 million global viewers. Statistically, the combined viewership of these two fights surpassed the average global audience of most top-tier sports events, underscoring boxing’s renewed appeal to a diverse streaming audience.
Not everything went smoothly. Streaming hiccups such as buffering and frozen screens irritated plenty of new subscribers, testing Netflix’s ability to handle massive live events. Yet, the overall numbers suggest that these technical issues weren’t enough to dampen enthusiasm or deter sign-ups. In fact, Netflix is now planning a pivot toward more live sports content, including exclusive NFL games on Christmas Day.
Critics who have long predicted boxing’s demise may need to rethink their stance. The massive influx of new subscribers, the huge global reach, and the growing interest in women’s boxing collectively send a clear message: There’s still a significant appetite for the sport, especially when presented on a platform as accessible as Netflix. Whether these new subscribers stick around remains to be seen, but for now, both Netflix and the boxing world are basking in the spotlight of a very successful experiment.
Image Credit: DAZN