Netflix’s live streaming of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match pushed global internet infrastructure to its limits, drawing 108 million viewers worldwide.

At the UBS conference in New York on December 10, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that the November 15 event, which experienced buffering and freezing issues for some users, required Netflix to establish a dedicated control room in Silicon Valley to manage the unprecedented demand. “We were pushing every ISP in the world right to the limits of their capacity,” Sarandos stated. “We were stressing the limits of the internet itself that night.”

The streaming giant’s technical team had to continuously re-engineer network infrastructure throughout the five-and-a-half-hour broadcast to maintain service stability. This marks a significant improvement from the company’s previous technical challenges, notably during the “Love Is Blind” reunion broadcast approximately 18 months ago.

The success of the Paul-Tyson event has prompted Netflix to expand its live programming slate. Upcoming broadcasts include NFL Christmas Day Games featuring a Beyoncé halftime performance, WWE Raw starting January 2024, and a live show with comedian John Mulaney.

Sarandos acknowledged that Netflix “severely undersold” advertising for the boxing match, indicating they underestimated potential viewership. “If we knew the audience would be that big, we probably would have done much more selling on that fight,” he noted.

Looking ahead, Netflix’s live event strategy focuses on “unique” properties that can be transformed into major events rather than routine sports programming. The company aims to leverage its ability to attract global and younger audiences as a key proposition to potential partners.

This strategy influenced their decision to partner with WWE, which Sarandos highlighted operates with a 40-person writing room. “It’s much closer to our current wheelhouse of creating and storytelling,” he explained, noting that each week of WWE programming functions as “a big event.”