Netflix was sued this week in a class action complaint over the platform’s “streaming glitches” and other livestream hiccups while airing the highly anticipated Friday night fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
“Sixty million Americans were hyped to see ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ versus YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul. What they saw was ‘The Baddest Streaming on the Planet,’” the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County, reads.
Legal docs, obtained and reviewed by TheWrap, go on to state that the platform “delivered the first punch of the night, to its customers, with unrelenting ‘buffering’ and blocked coverage” and added that the “most hyped fight in boxing history” ended up being a “record night” not because of the contenders but because of the money Netflix “stole.”
While delays in the livestream were reported and addressed, the streamer “worked quickly to stabilize viewing for the majority of members,” an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.
Americans around the country were seated and ready to watch Tyson and Paul exchange blows, and when the event did finally start, many ended up taking to social media to express their anger over apparent streaming issues.
While calling the fight night a success, Netflix also acknowledged where there was room for “improvement” with its streaming.
“This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers,” Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone wrote to employees, according to Bloomberg. “I’m sure many of you have seen the chatter in the press and on social media about the quality issues.”
She continued: “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.”
Ronald “Blue” Denton individually filed the class action suit Monday “on behalf of all others similarly situated.” He accused in the docs Netflix of “no access,” “streaming glitches and “buffering issues.”
Additionally, it stated Netflix failed to fulfill its contractual obligations and engaged in deceptive trade practices, as they continued to bill subscribers despite not delivering its outlined streaming services.
“Plaintiff and Class Members have suffered monetary loss due to the charging for services not rendered and has been subjected to undue inconvenience and frustration,” the lawsuit reads.
According to Netflix, there were 65 million live concurrent streams and 108 million total live viewers tuning in for the fight around the world.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.