When the NFL announced that Netflix would be exclusively streaming a pair of games on Christmas Day, fans were intrigued.
However, on Nov. 15, that feeling was replaced by trepidation when Netflix’s highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson featured several technical issues. Viewers reported that the stream kept freezing, buffering, or appearing pixelated, which ruined the viewing experience.
Well, those same issues surfaced again for some users — but not all — during the NFL’s Christmas doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.
Netflix’s Technical Difficulties, Outages Impact NFL’s Christmas Games For Some Viewers
Ever since the night of the Tyson-Paul fight, many fans were worried that the Christmas Day games would be marred by the same glitches, especially considering the doubleheader featured high-profile teams and a Beyoncé halftime show. Those fears are now a reality for some.
While many users haven’t experienced issues yet, there were a number of people who took to social media to report that their stream was freezing, buffering, or lagging while they were trying to watch the NFL’s Christmas Day games. Others (this author included) initially couldn’t watch the game — it just kept playing the pre-game programming.
Have you experienced any streaming issues with Netflix yet?
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 25, 2024
Entering the Christmas double-header, there were some warning signs that the service might crash. Netflix’s chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, admitted that “there are no live annual events — sports or otherwise — that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts.” NFL executive VP of media distribution Hans Schroeder pointed out that Netflix’s “biggest day of the year is typically this holiday.”
It isn’t shocking that some technical difficulties would arise during a double-header of the most-watched live event on the biggest viewership day of the year on a streaming service that is relatively new to live programming.
One user posted on X, “You’d think @netflix would have learned after what happened on their service with them Tyson vs Paul ‘fight’, but here we go again! ‘Netflix services experienced an internal error. Please try again later’, come on now!”
You’d think @netflix would have learned after what happened on their service with them Tyson vs Paul “fight”, but here we go again! “Netflix services experienced an internal error. Please try again later”, come on now! pic.twitter.com/daKO7lSAbO
— Storm Chaser Eli Roberts (@SCEliRoberts) December 25, 2024
Another user said, “So it begins with @netflix. Can’t even get on their homepage, it’s been buffering for over 5 minutes. Well at least the @NFL will get their money!!!
You’d think @netflix would have learned after what happened on their service with them Tyson vs Paul “fight”, but here we go again! “Netflix services experienced an internal error. Please try again later”, come on now! pic.twitter.com/daKO7lSAbO
— Storm Chaser Eli Roberts (@SCEliRoberts) December 25, 2024
And another compared their stream quality to that of their grandparents when they were growing up decades ago.
“Gotta love #thenetflix freezing during plays, and allowing me to experience a game broadcast in the same quality as my grandparents grew up with.”
Gotta love #thenetflix freezing during plays, and allowing me to experience a game broadcast in the same quality as my grandparents grew up with. #Netflix #NFLonNetflix #NFL pic.twitter.com/cUfgWjEDDW
— Amy Schlag (@NCFeminist) December 25, 2024
But for others, the stream appears to be working just fine. A user commented, “The Netflix stream for the Chiefs game hasn’t frozen or buffered yet, IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!”
The Netflix stream for the Chiefs game hasn’t frozen or buffered yet, IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! 🎄#ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/KposCCN41C
— Kyle Taylor (@KyleTaylor416) December 25, 2024
Another said, “[N]etflix seems to be running smoothly so far they just gotta keep it up for a few more hours”
netflix seems to be running smoothly so far they just gotta keep it up for a few more hours pic.twitter.com/9FdptkRBva
— kahmilia♡ (@kamiiluvv) December 25, 2024
Also, this marks the first time that Netflix has had built-in commercial breaks for a live event, creating another potential hiccup.
Netflix’s promotional material with Beyoncé even featured a buffering joke.
I’m sending you big joy and love on this Cowboy Christmas Eve ❤️ I’ll see y’all tomorrow, in my city HTX 🤟🏽🏈🪕🌵🎄 pic.twitter.com/DFNmOjZNLr
— BEYONCÉ (@Beyonce) December 24, 2024
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Tyson-Paul glitches occurred because Netflix underestimated the number of viewers who would tune in due to “executives’ overly conservative viewing estimates.”
For the NFL Christmas doubleheader, Netflix estimated that it would have up to 35 million concurrent viewers globally but supposedly prepared for as many as 65 million concurrent viewers just in case. Also, according to the WSJ piece, Netflix struck agreements with internet service providers Comcast, Charter Communications, and Verizon to provide extra capacity during the games. Clearly, Netflix didn’t do enough.
Perhaps what is most frustrating about Netflix’s glitches is the fact they may have been entirely preventable if the streamer had just listened to industry experts.
“Industry experts have advised Netflix to partner with third-party content-delivery networks to provide backup services, like Peacock and Amazon have done when streaming NFL games, said people familiar with the matter,” the WSJ reported.
“Such arrangements would allow Netflix to reroute the traffic in real-time among the partner networks. Netflix has chosen not to do so because it is confident in its system, the people said.”
“We are not worried,” Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s chief media and business officer, said last month. “We’ve worked a ton with Netflix getting ready for this.”
It’s worth noting that this is now at least the third Netflix live event to experience these technical issues. They also had trouble with a live “Love Is Blind” reunion show, which they eventually had to film and release as a recording when subscribers couldn’t watch it live.
Netflix paid $150 million to secure the exclusive broadcast rights to this year’s NFL’s Christmas Day games, and this doesn’t even factor in what they spent to prepare for the event, promote and market it, or pay the performers like Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.