((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto)) by Amy Tennery and Dawn Chmielewski
The clash between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul, which takes place on Friday, is the latest one-two punch from Netflix, with the media giant hoping to cash in on sports' push to streaming.
The intergenerational clash has everything to become a success: Tyson, 58, attracts the old guard, while Paul, 27, who made his name on YouTube, seduces the youngest, addicted to social media.
Available at no extra cost to Netflix's more than 280 million subscribers, the show could be a welcome change for American boxing fans accustomed to shelling out extra money to watch big matches on longtime broadcaster HBO.
“The trend right now in all sports is moving some of their properties to streaming,” said Bob Dorfman, a veteran sports marketing analyst based in San Francisco.
“These are two high-profile personalities, who have the potential to become the biggest streaming sporting event
US subscription television network HBO announced in 2018 that it was removing live boxing from its programming, ending a 45-year relationship with the sport and leaving a broadcast void in its wake.
Netflix has already dabbled in sports content, with golf and tennis tournaments, as well as the wildly popular documentary series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”, which helped increase the popularity of the racing circuit in the United States. United.
The fight at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is Netflix's first live boxing event, furthering Netflix's strategy of providing exclusive content that viewers cannot find elsewhere.
Although the fight is not traditionally advertised, it has sponsors whose messages will be part of the live-streamed event.
Advertising does not represent a significant portion of the streamer's current revenue, although its subscriber numbers are growing rapidly: 70 million subscribers were counted this week, up from 40 million in May.
This mega-event is a sign of an enduring love affair between sports and streaming, said Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports, while predicting that streaming and traditional broadcasting will coexist in a foreseeable future.
“This is a unique event…In my opinion, it's more of a novelty. It's not going to change the industry,” said Mr. Pilson, president of Pilson Communications.
“The industry will always be guided by the agreements made with the leagues (like) MLS, NFL, Major League Baseball.”
Amazon Prime took over Thursday Night Football in 2021 and MLS signed a 10-year mega-deal with Apple TV in 2022, worth an estimated $2.5 billion.
Major League Baseball also signed a deal with Apple for “Friday Night Baseball,” a weekly doubleheader, in 2022.
Leagues have turned to streaming because it reaches global audiences, including younger ones, who don't watch traditional television.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Apple's streaming platform allows MLS to better leverage the sport's global fan base.
“We saw that it was difficult to get an audience and save money with local and regional television – we saw that in 2018,” Garber said this week at the Paley International Council Summit.
“We wanted to go to market with a global offering… We have a subscription that is global, each of our 600 games is treated like 'Monday Night Football'.”
