One of the most anticipated fights in boxing today isn't a dream fight or a massive title bout. Everyone is talking about Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson which takes place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on November 15.
The fight will feature a YouTuber versus a Hall of Fame boxing legend, who retired in 2005. When announced, jaws dropped and eyes rolled. It didn't make sense at the time, and it still has detractors, but Netflix has invested heavily in the fight for a reason.
"Mike Tyson is one of the biggest icons in boxing history, and Jake Paul is one of the biggest disruptors in boxing history," said Gabe Spitzer, Vice President of Nonfiction Sports for Netflix. "We are thrilled to partner with Most Valuable Promotions for this historic event and we can't wait for these two to face off for fans all across the world on Netflix."
The fight was delayed from the summer to November when Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up on a flight. Despite his health issues, the fight is still on.
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Paul is 27, while Tyson is 58. To put that into perspective, when Paul was born in 1997, Tyson was biting Evander Holyfield's ears and was close to the end of his dominant run in the sport.
Why is Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson happening?For one, money is a massive factor.
It is rumored that the total fight purse is $80 million. That is a significant purse for Paul, who has made approximately $7 million in his career. Tyson's name still holds value after all these years, and the former champion will walk out of the fight with millions in his wallet.
Outside of the fighters, money still plays a role with investors.
In the age of YouTube boxing and influencers having a say, businesses can either adapt or perish. Per CNBC, Netflix and other platforms invest in live sports programming to create "cultural moments" relevant to viewers and advertisers.
Per The Athletic, Ampere Analysis estimates the total amount spent by streaming platforms on sports rights (as of 2024) to be $9.8 billion.
Amazon Prime hosts Thursday Night Football and will broadcast several Champions League matches. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. announced the launch of a joint sports streaming service, while Apple bought the rights to air several MLB and MLS games.
BUY: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson tickets at AT&T Stadium
From signing a multi-year, $5 billion deal with WWE, and hosting a Hot Dog Eating contest to being the home of NFL games on Christmas, Netflix is gambling on the idea of live sports on a platform known for movies, shows, and documentaries.
"Netflix started out doing no sport, then they started doing sports documentaries like Drive To Survive, but there's an underlying trend where subscriber numbers are not going up," David Murray, a sport-rights consultant, told The Athletic. "Where live sport can be really valuable is providing regular content that people want to watch.
"Sport delivers audiences, it delivers uncertainty, so it makes a huge amount of sense — but it means shifting their business models quite dramatically, and the sums involved are potentially quite huge."
The AT&T Stadium holds 80,000+ people. It is not on PPV, meaning subscribers can watch without paying an additional price. If you are already invested in Netflix, having sporting events like this fight can retain users for the long run.
"That's what they're probably testing here is, as they go through these various sports, tennis, boxing, golf ... What type of audience do they get and what's the response in the advertising marketplace when they go to the market with these type of opportunities?" Georgetown University adjunct Marty Conway told CNBC.
