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About That Tyson-Paul Netflix Number…

The broadcast guys are calling bullshit on Netflix’s Tyson-Paul ratings. But Nielsen isn’t unbiased, either. Alas, as streaming reorients the industry toward self-reported data, the only constant is that nobody’s numbers really add up.

Mike Tyson Jake Paul
Not surprisingly, in the higher calling of broadcast television, TV network sources started pouring cold water on the Tyson-Paul numbers immediately. Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix
John Ourand
November 22, 2024

Earlier this week, during an SBJ industry confab, NBC Sports president Rick Cordella rolled his eyes when asked about Netflix’s hyperbolic claims regarding the viewership for its Jake Paul–Mike Tyson match last Friday evening—38 million concurrent streams in the States and a worldwide audience of more than 60 million, making it “the most-streamed sporting event ever,” according to a company press release. Netflix even declared the undercard fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano to be “the most-watched professional women’s sports event in U.S. history” with an average-minute audience of 47 million viewers. If that’s accurate, the Taylor-Serrano fight would have achieved the fourth-largest TV audience of 2023, behind just Super Bowl LVII and the two NFL conference championship games.