As expected, the KO by former unified heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua of Jake Paul scored a huge audience win for the "Streaming Goliath" Netflix.
Anthony Joshua delivered his KO of Jake Paul and streaming giant Netflix's audience scored big too.
Tuesday Next and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) gave more info on the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua battle from Friday night December 19th. The fight at Miami’s Kaseya Center saw Joshua’s emphatic sixth-round knockout victory Jake Paul capping one of the most-watched live sporting events in Netflix history.
According to VideoAmp and Netflix, the main event averaged an estimated 33 million Live +1 viewers globally from the opening bell through the knockout, underscoring the massive worldwide interest in the matchup.
The event quickly became a global phenomenon, reaching Netflix’s Top 10 rankings in 91 countries and claiming the #1 spot in 45 of them. Among the countries where the event ranked first were the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Argentina.
Bear in mind that the main event began after 11:30 p.m. Eastern time and much of the audience in the U.K. and Europe was more than 5 hours ahead of that on the clock. So, many there likely watched time displaced or "on demand" later Saturday morning or afternoon.
Some perspective though that the Paul-Mike Tyson battle in November of 2024 had an even more enormous 108 million Live +1 viewers using the same metric. That speaks more to Tyson's overwhelming popularity, even 25 years after his fighting career wound down, and him getting in the ring with the social media/Youtube star turned boxer, Paul.
The card also proved to be a landmark moment for women’s boxing, as the co-main event featuring Alycia Baumgardner versus Leila Beaudoin drew an impressive estimated average minute audience of 15 million Live +1 viewers globally.
Most Valuable Promotions had more on the money from the arena ticket sales, etc.
At the gate, the event set a new benchmark, becoming the highest-grossing boxing event in the history of the Kaseya Center. Reportedly, the fight made over $3 million.
Also, its digital footprint was equally strong generating 1.25 billion impressions across Netflix’s global social media platforms. The fight dominated online conversation, trending as the #1 topic on X in the United States, United Kingdom, and Brazil, and ranking among the top trends worldwide.
The slow-motion replay clip of Anthony Joshua’s knockout punch has since become the highest-performing clip from any Netflix live event, amassing more than 214 million impressions across Netflix’s social channels.
EverPass also estimates that nearly 600,000 viewers watched the fight from commercial venues across the United States, including bars, restaurants, casinos, and hospitality locations, highlighting the event’s broad cultural reach.
The bout attracted a star-studded ringside audience spanning sports, music, and entertainment, reinforcing its status as a must-see spectacle. And, it scored with social interaction about the main event totaling in the millions of views/impressions.
Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua represents the latest milestone in Netflix’s expanding slate of live events. Upcoming offerings include NFL Christmas Day games, WWE Raw, MLB Opening Night, the Home Run Derby, Field of Dreams, and more. The event marked Netflix’s third collaboration with MVP, following Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano III.