Netflix will have ‘hell to pay’ if its NFL Christmas broadcast suffers the same technical problems as the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight, says Howard Stern.
The streaming giants’ coverage of Paul’s one-sided victory over Tyson was marred by quality issues on Friday night, with millions of disgruntled fans complaining about buffering, poor picture quality and spotty audio throughout the event.
Despite those difficulties, Netflix still regards its Tyson-Paul broadcast as a ‘huge success’ after claiming as many as 65 million households were watching at one stage of the evening.
‘We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members, and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success,’ CTO Elizabeth Stone wrote in a message to employees, as reported by Bloomberg.
Though with the company also set to broadcast the NFL’s two marquee Christmas Day fixtures next month, Stern has warned Netflix that football fans will not be as forgiving if they encounter similar problems.
‘I don’t know how this stuff works, but you gotta make sure it works,’ the American media personality said on his latest Sirius XM radio show.
‘You f*** up people’s football, there is hell to pay. You better not.’
Netflix secured a $150million deal to air two NFL games on Christmas Day, beating the likes of ESPN, Prime Video and Fox Sports to the television rights.
The Kansas City Chiefs will first take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pennsylvania at 1pm ET, before the Houston Texans host the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30pm.
Those Christmas Day games come as part of a three-year deal with the streaming service to air at least one fixture on Christmas Day annually through 2026.
Beyonce is also set to to headline the halftime show for the game between the Texans and the Ravens at NRG Stadium.
