Netflix experienced many technical difficulties during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight. While over 70,000 people could watch the event in person at AT&T Stadium on Friday night, over 60 million households tried to watch as loading and buffering issues made it impossible.
Shawne Merriman had plenty to say about it, and not only because he’s cemented in the sports world. The former All-Pro NFL linebacker previously launched his own streaming service, Lights Out Sports.
Merriman said while the issues with Paul-Tyson were one thing, when the NFL comes to Netflix on Christmas, they can’t have the same issues. The Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers go head-to-head before the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans also play that Wednesday night.
“They can get away with what happened with the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight. They cannot get away with the NFL because the one thing about the NFL, their product is No. 1,” Merriman told Fox News Sports. “That shield, the look, the graphics packages, their transitioning from in and out of spots is pristine.”
Perhaps now that Netflix knows that since these issues hit so many consumers, the solution needs to be found before they take advantage of their three-year, $75 million deal to air live sports programming on a national holiday.
“You cannot, under no circumstances, botch an NFL broadcast. And they have to work out all those kinks now and get the right crew there, because the NFL is not going to tolerate that,” Merriman added. “The NFL’s brand is too big, and one thing about the NFL, what we know and love is the production quality is at the highest standards you can get.”
Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod recently wrote that Netflix isn’t ready for such a tall task.
[Fox News]
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.