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Netflix’s Jake Paul-Mike Tyson streaming issues raise Christmas concerns for NFL

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Netflix’s Jake Paul-Mike Tyson streaming issues raise Christmas concerns for NFL

When Amazon Prime Video became an exclusive partner with the NFL in 2022 — the first time a streaming service received a full, exclusive package of NFL games — the buzzword in the sports media industry was “proof of concept.” Though Amazon had worked with NFL Network and Fox on “Thursday Night Football” starting in 2017, one of the biggest questions the streamer faced when it started its 11-year run as the exclusive broadcaster of TNF was whether it could handle the audience load. Would the streaming hold up? Would the product look and feel like an NFL broadcast? You can disagree on the choice of broadcasters, graphics, music — these are all subjective things. But what is not subjective is accessibility.

Amazon Prime Video’s NFL debut in September 2022 — an exciting 27-24 win for the Kansas City Chiefs over the Los Angeles Chargers — was a mix of beautiful images and mild anger over tech issues that dissipated very quickly through the opening weeks of the season. Sure, the broadcasters might have pushed hard to sell the audience the 20-year-old Mazda regarding the schedule, but the company passed the proof-of-concept test. My former colleague Bill Shea captured that opening broadcast, and today we don’t see discussions about buffering or tech issues about Amazon’s NFL presentation. Latency can be problematic for live sports if the stream is more than a few seconds behind the real-time action, but Amazon has been very good here.

This was all front of mind Friday as Netflix aired multiple hours of pro boxing from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Jake Paul and Mike Tyson were the headline act, and it was not a great moment for sporting excellence. The Paul-Tyson bout was horrible, and so was the streaming experience for many viewers. As my colleague Tess DeMeyer chronicled, viewers were plagued by frequent bouts of buffering and freezing. There were technical issues in the broadcast, with Evander Holyfield’s earpiece and Jerry Jones’ microphone malfunctioning during separate interviews. (As wryly noted on X by Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill, there was great irony in Jones’ praising Netflix’s future with the NFL as viewers experienced tech issues.)

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Streaming issues of course vary depending on multiple factors, including internet connectivity. But there were loads of viewers who experienced problems Friday night, including The Athletic’s own media writer, Andrew Marchand, who updated his followers on Bluesky on the error message he was receiving.

Netflix has over 280 million subscribers in more than 190 countries including Canada, where I watched from Friday night. I struggled to get access to the streamer for a couple of minutes before the sensational Amanda Serrano-Katie Taylor bout (Serrano was robbed, it says here) and had moments of buffering throughout; I was clean for the whole Tyson-Paul event. Social media was lit with complaints. (The website Down Detector noted nearly 85,000 viewers logged problems with outages or streaming leading up to the fight, per the CBC.) It’s the worst kind of publicity for Netflix, which declined to comment. An NFL spokesperson had not responded as of publication.

This isn’t the first live sports rodeo for Netflix. It aired an F1-golf crossover event last November and a tennis match between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal in March. Those were successful. What was a disaster was the live reunion in April 2023 to the conclusion of the fourth season of the reality dating show “Love Is Blind,” when users were unable to access the stream. Netflix issued an apology to viewers and an apology during an earnings call.

But the big one for Netflix is coming Christmas Day, given it landed exclusive rights to stream two NFL games — the Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens versus the Houston Texans. The three-season deal also includes a game on Christmas Day in 2025 and 2026. The game production will not be an issue as CBS is handling that, and the NFL Network is charged with pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. Neither of those entities has a role in transmission and streaming; that’s on Netflix, and it’s under six weeks until kickoff.

The Tyson-Paul fight was ultimately sports entertainment. Even Netflix’s recent deal with WWE — paying more than $5 billion for exclusive rights to the long-running “Raw” franchise, along with other rights outside the U.S. — could be tagged as sports-adjacent given WWE falls under sports entertainment. But the NFL matters to those that fuel weekly sports consumption in North America, and these matchups would easily draw more than 25-plus million on a traditional outlet in the United States. The NFL desperately wants Netflix to work as a partner because Netflix represents a multiple-decade ATM for it. Netflix needs it to work because it sees advertising as part of its long-term ambition for sustainable earning sources, and live sports can be a driver there. The NFL has an international slate of games it can easily turn into a future media rights package, and you know it wants Netflix at the table for that. Netflix executives announced this week they had sold out of advertising inventory for the games. It’s a big deal in the sports business world.

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The NFL wants to put on a show far more entertaining than Tyson-Paul, and you can be sure Friday night spooked league officials a bit. Given the trajectory of the four teams playing Christmas Day, the games are shaping up to be of serious consequence for playoff seeding. There is money and reputation at stake, and you don’t get a second chance at a first impression. Both entities will be crushed by NFL fans if Christmas brings buffering and dropped streams.

(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)

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Will Ospreay firmly believes he can carry AEW if he’s able to win world championship at All In

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Will Ospreay firmly believes he can carry AEW if he’s able to win world championship at All In

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Will Ospreay was able to live out his “dream match” on Sunday night at All Elite Wrestling (AEW)’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view in New York.

Ospreay squared off against Samoa Joe in the first round of the Owen Hart Men’s Tournament. The winner of the tournament will earn an AEW World Championship shot at All In – AEW’s premiere event of the year – at Wembley Stadium in England.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Will Ospreay defeated Samoa Joe in a wrestling match at AEW Double or Nothing in Queens, N.Y., on May 24, 2026. (Lee South/AEW)

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He started the match with an OsCutter, catching Joe off guard. The two battled their way through the match but it was Ospreay who hit Joe with multiple Hidden Blades to get the win. The “Aerial Assassin” was asked about his ability to carry AEW on his shoulders and become the face of the company should he win the Owen and take the title later this year.

“It’s because I have that confidence and that belief I can carry those three letters,” he said at the post-show scrum. “The middle letter, ‘E,’ that’s the standard, mate – elite. When everybody talks about elite pro wrestling, there is no one better on this planet. I believe that with my heart. I believe that with my soul.

Samoa Joe and Will Ospreay compete in a wrestling match at AEW Double or Nothing in Queens, N.Y., on May 24, 2026. (Lee South/AEW)

“I know what I’m capable of. I know what I can do. This place, the motto, and it gets said over and over again, ‘this is where the best wrestle.’ No, mate. This is where the ‘Billy Goat’ wrestles. And I’m ready more than ever to take that top spot and to take AEW to new heights.”

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Ospreay said he has dreamed about performing at Wembley Stadium as a pro wrestler while his schoolmates were dreaming of becoming soccer players.

He had battled back through a neck injury and worked out with the Death Riders to turn into the weapon he once was. The entire situation miffed Joe, which culminated in a match at Double or Nothing.

Ospreay will either face Mark Davis or Jack Perry in the semifinals. On the other side of the men’s bracket, Swerve Strickland defeated Bandido at Double or Nothing. He will either face Claudio Castagnoli or Brody King in the semis.

Will Ospreay competes in the ring during AEW Dynamite at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Oct. 2, 2024. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

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The finals of the Owen Cup will be held at Forbidden Door on June 28.

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Prep talk: Mattias Di Maggio of Dos Pueblos enjoys one of the best freshman years ever

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Prep talk: Mattias Di Maggio of Dos Pueblos enjoys one of the best freshman years ever

Good as advertised.

That’s all you can say about Dos Pueblos freshman outfielder Mattias Di Maggio, whose first year of high school baseball came to an end with a 13-6 playoff loss to Mira Costa. But what a season he had.

He struck out once in 84 at-bats (it came against a Santa Barbara left-handed pitcher). He set a school record with 11 home runs. He batted .508 with 36 hits and nine doubles.

Said Mira Costa coach Andy Diver: “Very special player. Most polished freshman I have ever seen.”

College and pro scouts are well aware of his talents, so it will be interesting to see what he can accomplish over the next three seasons of high school baseball. At least Goleta is going to be quite popular to visit just to see him play.

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This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

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Victor Wembanyama scores 33 as Spurs dominate Thunder in Game 4 to even Western Conference Finals

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Victor Wembanyama scores 33 as Spurs dominate Thunder in Game 4 to even Western Conference Finals

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The San Antonio Spurs have evened up the Western Conference Finals in dominant fashion, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-82, on Sunday night.

With both teams winning two games now, it will be a pivotal matchup in Game 5 back at Paycor Center in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night to see who will have the upper hand heading into a decisive Game 6.

One of the biggest stories in this game revolved around the Thunder’s 3-point shooting percentage. It was such an advantage in Game 3’s victory, as they shot 44.7% and 48.1% from the field overall.

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Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs scores a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game Four of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on May 24, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

But the Spurs adjusted their defense, and it showed in Game 4 as the Thunder shot just 6 of 33 from beyond the arc (18%), resulting in only 33% shots made from the field.

San Antonio wasn’t much better, making only 27% of their 3s (9 of 33) and shooting just 39% from the field. However, they were playing aggressively and getting chances at the charity stripe, shooting 32 free throws compared to Oklahoma City’s 18.

2026 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS ODDS, BEST BETS, SERIES SPREAD: SAN ANTONIO SPURS VS OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

The aggression was clear from both teams, but it was San Antonio making the best of those moments, and it began in the first quarter.

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The Spurs got out to a hot start, owning a nine-point lead after the first quarter and moving it to double digits by halftime to the home crowd’s delight. Then, in the third quarter, the Thunder were struggling to hit shots, as they started to turn the ball over, which the Spurs have capitalized on all season long.

San Antonio scored 25 of its points off the Thunder’s 20 turnovers, and they were finding success in fast-break moments, too.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle gestures against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals NBA playoffs in San Antonio on May 24, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP)

At one point, the Spurs had a 25-point lead, and it’s always sweet for a team to rest its starters in the fourth quarter with a victory in hand.

Victor Wembanyama was back to his efficient ways from the floor, leading the Spurs with 33 points (11 of 22), while nailing three 3-pointers, collecting eight rebounds and dishing five assists. He also had three blocks on the other end.

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But Stephon Castle (13 points, three rebounds, six assists), Devin Vassell (13 points, six rebounds, three assists) and De’Aaron Fox (12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) all contributed well in the starting five in the winning effort. The Spurs also had six bench players score, including Dylan Harper, who finished with seven points and five rebounds.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a poor shooting night, hitting just six of his 15 shots, though he made all seven of his free throws. He had four rebounds, seven assists and four turnovers for Oklahoma City.

San Antonio Spurs players Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama, and Devin Vassell react after a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals in San Antonio on May 24, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP)

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As always, the Thunder had solid contributions from its bench, but it wasn’t to their standards. Players like Aaron Wiggins and Jared McCain, pivotal pieces in Game 3’s win, shot a combined 3 of 21 from the field for eight total points.

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These two top seeds in the West will battle Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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