On Friday (15 November), over 60 million people tuned into Netflix to watch Jake Paul beat Mike Tyson in an exhibition boxing match.

On the latest episode of iGaming Daily,  Callum Williams and Kieran O’Connor from the Insider Sport team were joined by Joe Streeter, Editor of CasinoBeats, to recap the event.

Netflix’s production of the event was “plagued by buffering issues,” but it was still a strong showing for the streaming platform’s first live sports outing.

Joe said: “This was Netflix’s opportunity to dip their toes into the water of sports streaming and the water must have felt pretty good even though there were problems. It showed that there is an appetite for this type of content.

“I think that has really got the taste buds tingling but there’s only so many times you can miss. As much as so many people did view this kind of non-event fight, there are only so many times you can get it wrong before audiences don’t buy into the hype so much.

“When they go back, they need to come back with something a bit stronger, something that is going to live up to the appetite. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how they continue that storytelling that they do for these types of events.”

It will be vital that Netflix quickly address the streaming issues it experienced given that it is set to broadcast two NFL games on Christmas day.

In the leadup to the event, Netflix revealed that it has sold out of ad space for the games. Among the official sponsors of the broadcast is FanDuel which will provide in-show features, including game analysis and predictions based on FanDuel’s betting odds.

This partnership opens up the possibility of integrating in-game betting odds within Netflix’s coverage, however, Joe suggested that there could be problems with ensuring that betting advertising is only seen by age-appropriate audiences. 

He said: “It’s going to be interesting how they ensure those adverts reach the right audiences because there are different regulations globally and Netflix is largely one stream. 

“But we 100% could see companies get innovative with this type of thing. The UFC does a cool thing where they have a betting show before the show on the top picks. There’s no reason why we couldn’t see that on Netflix providing they take steps to ensure it doesn’t go to the wrong audiences.”

Last week, Insider Sport took a deep dive into Netflix’s live sport strategy and so far it appears that the platform is focused on an event model rather than entire seasons, which will allow it to build a narrative around the occasion like it did with the Tyson vs Paul fight. 

To end the episode, the trio considered what other sports they would like to see broadcast on Netflix.

While Joe and Callum chose the orthodox options of NBA and more combat sports, Kieran had a more left-field suggestion.

“Rather than just one sport, I’m really surprised that they’re not moving to esports as a whole sector,” he explained. 

“It’s really taken off, especially in Saudi Arabia, and a lot of these teams have their own channels and stream on Twitch, which is free live streaming. You could really boost how these production levels come out and maybe the stories of how these teams reach the finals of the events they’re playing in and some background on the characters.

“I think Netflix would be a great partner because it’s a market they’re not really competing in against other streaming broadcasters. So they’ve got a niche there that they could walk into and make their own.”