Will Netflix be able to overcome buffering problems for NFL Christmas games?

Netflix is ​​the undisputed leader in streaming, yet it struggles to master the live broadcast of high-stakes events. Indeed, during the boxing fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson broadcast on Netflix on November 15, which reached around 60 million households, many subscribers experienced buffering problems or even interruptions in the broadcast. Technical difficulties were also rife during the Love Is Blind season 4 reunion special, causing a delay of more than an hour. These incidents launched a series of concerns about Netflix’s ability to handle live streaming of future events, such as NFL games scheduled for Christmas Day.

Will Netflix be able to resolve its streaming woes ahead of its first NFL event on Christmas Day? What could be the consequences if the situation persists with other events such as WWE’s flagship weekly show, Monday Night RAW, which will make its first live appearance on Netflix on January 6?

Temple Now sat down with Geoffrey Baym, professor of media studies and production at the Klein College of Media and Communication, to get his thoughts on Netflix’s struggles with live events.

Geoffrey Baym is a professor at Temple in the Department of Media and Production Studies. A former television producer, he has published award-winning works including From Cronkite to Colbert: The Evolution of Broadcast News (Oxford University Press) and News Parody and Political Satire Across the Globe (Routledge). He teaches media institutions, history and theory at Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication.

Temple Now: Why does Netflix, the streaming leader, seem to have not mastered broadcasting high-volume live events, like the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight?

Geoffrey Baym : It’s not just Netflix, but the entire streaming industry has always faced difficulties in broadcasting live events in a stable manner. The infrastructure for providing high-resolution live streaming to millions of users remains a relatively new technology. It is not designed in the same way as terrestrial or cable television, which were built to allow millions of viewers to watch a live event simultaneously. Netflix was initially designed as a fragmented viewing ecosystem offering a catalog of programs to consume at different times. This is not a service dedicated to direct broadcasting of events.

Netflix has experienced technical issues during its recent high-volume live events, such as the Love is Blind reunion and the Paul vs. Tyson, due to demand beyond its technical capabilities. The company has yet to demonstrate its ability to cope with simulcasting large audiences in real time, which has led to delays and buffering for many users.

TN: Why do other streaming companies, like Amazon, Apple, and Disney, seem to have fewer technical issues during their live events?

Baym : Netflix is ​​more of a hybrid media distribution company whose main activity consists of acquiring access rights to video programs, films and series, to distribute them to audiences. Unlike companies like Amazon, which started as true technology companies. For example, Amazon owns Amazon Prime Video, Apple has Apple TV, and Disney offers Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. These companies have better infrastructure in place to handle live event streaming, giving them an advantage. Amazon, as a technology company in its own right, has a cloud computing service more capable of handling millions of live viewers. Since 2017, Amazon has been live streaming NFL games every Thursday with fewer technical issues.

Apple TV positions itself as a consumer electronics manufacturer. As for Disney, it was founded to distribute live movies and television shows through broadcast and cable, like ESPN and ABC, before incorporating streaming as a new form of distribution, making its services better equipped to process and broadcast live events with fewer problems.

TN: Do you think Netflix will resolve its issues for its future live events, like the NFL on Christmas Day or WWE’s Monday Night RAW?

Baym : This is a key moment for Netflix to successfully release this on Christmas Day. When too many viewers tune in, it can overwhelm the system. However, I believe Netflix is ​​mobilizing its best engineers day and night to ensure we overcome these challenges. The main factors to consider will be how many streams Netflix is ​​prepared to handle and how its engineers will respond to any technical issues.

The Paul vs. Tyson, in a way, acted as a dress rehearsal for testing their technologies in a high-capacity live event setting. The 65 million viewers far exceeded Netflix’s forecasts. It’s a technological challenge to overcome, but I’m confident that Netflix will be able to solve its buffering issues for live events in the long run. Each new broadcast allows them to improve their performance.

TN: What are the issues if Netflix fails to rectify its distribution problems?

Baym : Netflix’s core business is based on subscription sales, while live TV’s business is more focused on advertising. It is true that advertising generates even more revenue than subscriptions. If Netflix can’t fix its problems, it risks losing millions of dollars in advertising revenue it could earn from showing NFL games. In this case, the NFL and other live events could turn to more reliable streaming services. For example, Amazon acquired the rights to broadcast Thursday Night Football and is trying to increase its market share in sports streaming, investing billions in an 11-year deal to be the exclusive service showing multiple NBA games and the WNBA. Amazon, Disney and Max have streamed multiple live events with fewer technical issues than Netflix.

In reality, Netflix is ​​not required to broadcast live events and chooses to assert that its business model would be more robust with these broadcasts. Their three-year contract with the NFL for Christmas Day games and their $5 billion investment over ten years to broadcast live WWE shows are intended to keep them active in the streaming wars. However, Netflix has already built original programming and an extensive production infrastructure on a global scale. Did subscribers who weren’t able to watch the Paul-Tyson fight really say, “I’m going to cancel my Netflix subscription”? Or did they just figure that wasn’t why they subscribed? Netflix is ​​doing quite well, envisioning a future without terrestrial television or cable.