Netflix’s Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match drove 1.43 million new sign-ups within three days of the fight — making it the “single largest acquisition moment” in the streamer’s history, according to a new report from Antenna Data on Monday.
The quick influx of new subscribers helped make it the “most-streamed sporting event in history,” according to Netflix, with the company reporting the Nov. 15 fight had 108 million viewers.
Those 1.43 million new subscribers represented a significant change of pace for Netflix, which tends to have a “very steady rate of sign-ups” thanks to its “high penetration levels” and “very broad programming library,” Antenna said in its report.
“It’s notable to observe that the Paul-Tyson fight was highly unique for Netflix, because it was both the first pronounced spike and the single largest acquisition moment for the service since Antenna started covering the subscription video sector in 2019,” Antenna said.
The fight — aside from featuring a mega-influencer-turned-fighter against the most ferocious heavyweight in history — also went viral for moments that happened outside the ring, like when Tyson revealed his butt in his pre-match interview.
Beyond Tyson-Paul, Antenna’s report highlighted the important role live sports play in driving new streaming sign-ups in 2024.
Three other sporting events drove more sign-ups in a three-day window than the fight, according to Antenna. The biggest driver of last-minute sign-ups was Super Bowl LVIII back in February, with Paramount+ adding 3.2 million new accounts the day before, of, and after the game. (The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime for their second straight title, if you forgot about the game.)
The NFL also provided a big boost to Peacock, which grabbed 2.85 million sign-ups thanks to its exclusive streaming of the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game. And Peacock grabbed the bronze medal as well, with 1.79 million people adding the service during the first three days of the Paris Olympics.
After Tyson-Paul grabbed the fourth spot, the fifth-biggest driver of new subscribers was Peacock’s exclusive Packers-Eagles game from Brazil in September. That game, which suffered from “challenging” weather and stadium conditions, led to 1.36 million new sign-ups for Peacock.
Looking not too far ahead, it’ll be worth seeing if Netflix’s two NFL games on Christmas will lead to a similar influx of new subscribers. Netflix reported in October it had 282.72 million subscribers at the end of Q3.
