- Netflix’s latest livestream test includes two Christmas Day NFL games and a Beyoncé performance.
- A Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight streamed live on Netflix was marred by technical difficulties.
- Netflix stated that it was using lessons from that unprecedented stream to avoid a repeat.
Netflix is hoping its latest live event won’t break the internet.
The streaming giant will put its technical prowess to the test once more when it streams two NFL games on Christmas Day, the first fruits of its three-season contract. (Netflix reportedly paid $150 million to air this year’s two Christmas matchups, with more games planned for the 2025 and 2026 holidays.)
To raise the stakes even higher, Beyoncé will perform a halftime show during the second game.
As Netflix’s live shows have grown in popularity, so has the focus on technical difficulties. Netflix told Business Insider that it had learned from previous issues.
Last month, a boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was marred by buffering, poor image quality, and audio issues for some viewers. Approximately 90,000 issues were reported on the website Downdetector at the time.
Netflix had previously frustrated viewers with technical difficulties. Last year, a live “Love Is Blind” reunion was postponed and eventually filmed to air later.
According to the Wall Street Journal, issues arose during the Tyson-Paul fight because Netflix significantly underestimated viewership — three times as many people tuned in as expected. According to the report, this overwhelmed Netflix’s systems, leaving internet service providers unprepared.
According to Netflix, the fight set a new record with 65 million concurrent viewers worldwide.
“We were stressing our own technology, we were pushing every ISP in the world right to the edge of their own capacity, and we were stressing the limits of the internet itself,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at a conference this month.
The company told Business Insider that it worked quickly to resolve issues for the majority of members after they arose during the Tyson-Paul stream. It said it is applying lessons learned from its main pressure points to NFL streams, such as adjusting content delivery, encoding, and streaming protocols.
According to the Journal, Netflix expected the football games to draw 35 million concurrent viewers, but was preparing for an audience similar to the boxing event.
Live programming is a popular target for advertisers because it attracts highly engaged viewers. Netflix has signed costly content deals to expand its advertising business, including a 10-year, $5 billion deal for WWE programming and an agreement with FIFA to air the next two Women’s World Cup tournaments exclusively in the United States in 2027 and 2031.
The Tyson-Paul stream had no ad breaks, but there were logo placements and in-broadcast integrations, Netflix previously told BI. According to the Journal, the NFL games will be the first time Netflix has built commercial breaks into a stream.
Netflix announced in November that inventory for both games had sold out, with sponsors including FanDuel and Verizon.
And the day has been scheduled as a full-fledged spectacle. Mariah Carey will open the show with her Christmas classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which will be pre-recorded.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first game in Pittsburgh, which begins at 1 p.m. ET. The Houston Texans face the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. Beyoncé is scheduled to perform during halftime in her hometown of Houston.
Netflix launched its ad-supported subscription tier two years ago and now has 70 million subscribers. The company predicts that advertising will eventually account for 10% of its revenue.