Netflix hopes for live sports knockout with Paul-Tyson fight
Boxers Mike Tyson, Jake Paul, Katie Taylor, and Amanda Serrano attend a news conference, ahead of their postponed professional fight which was set to take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on July 20, in New York City, U.S., May 13, 2024. REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A showdown between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul on Friday is the latest one-two punch from Netflix, as the media giant hopes to cash in on sportsâ sprint to streaming.
The intergenerational showdown has all the makings of a crossover hit, with 58-year-old Tyson bringing in the old guard and 27-year-old Paul, who achieved early fame on YouTube, appealing to the younger, screen-toting social media junkies.
Available to all of Netflixâs more than 280 million subscribers for no additional fee, it could be a welcome change for American boxing fans accustomed to shelling out extra to watch marquee matches on long-time broadcaster HBO.
âThe trend in all sports right now is moving some of their properties to streaming,â said Bob Dorfman, a veteran San Francisco-based sports marketing analyst.
âThis is two huge personalities â it does have the potential to be the biggest streaming sports event.â
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The American subscription television network HBO announced in 2018 it was dropping live boxing from its programming, ending a 45-year relationship with the sport and leaving a broadcasting vacuum in its wake.
Netflix has dabbled in sports content before, with exhibition golf and tennis events and the wildly popular docuseries âFormula 1: Drive to Survive,â which is credited with boosting the auto racing circuitâs popularity in the U.S.
The fight at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, its first live boxing event, works in favor of Netflixâs strategy of providing proprietary content that viewers cannot find elsewhere.
While the fight will not have traditional advertising, it has sponsors whose messages will be part of the live streamed event.
Advertising is not a major contributor to the streamerâs current revenue, though its ad-supported tier is quickly growing, with 70 million subscribers reported this week, up from 40 million in May.
The mega-event is the sign of a lasting love affair between sport and streaming, said Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports, though he predicts streaming and traditional broadcast will exist side-by-side for the foreseeable future.
âThis is a one-time-only event⊠Itâs more as a novelty in my view. It doesnât change the industry,â said Pilson, president of Pilson Communications.
âThe industry is still going to be driven by the league deals (like) MLS, NFL, Major League Baseball.â
Amazon Prime picked up Thursday Night Football in 2021 and MLS signed a 10-year mega-deal with Apple TV in 2022 worth a reported $2.5 billion.
Major League Baseball signed a deal with Apple for âFriday Night Baseball,â a weekly doubleheader, in 2022, as well.
Leagues have been gravitating to streaming both because it reaches a global audience, including younger viewers, who are not watching traditional television.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the Apple streaming platform allows MLS to better take advantage of the sportâs global fanbase.
âWe were seeing the difficulty of getting an audience and getting the economics right with local and regional television â we saw that in 2018,â Garber said this week at the Paley International Council Summit.
âWe wanted to go to the market with a global package⊠We have a subscription thatâs global, every one of our 600 games is treated like âMonday Night Footballâ.â
Source: www.reuters.com
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