Netflix ( NFLX ) shares recovered from earlier losses on Monday after the streaming giant's highly anticipated boxing event between heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and YouTube personality Jake Paul experienced technical glitches throughout the live broadcast.
The issues have sparked concerns about the company's ability to deliver other types of live programs, especially with the upcoming NFL Christmas Day games in just over a month.
Customers complained about buffering disruptions and streaming issues while watching the event Friday night. Downdetector , which tracks internet outages, received thousands of outage reports throughout the evening.
Netflix did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance's request for comment.
Since the start of the year, Netflix shares have surged over 70%, far outpacing the broader markets and streaming rivals, including Disney ( DIS ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ). Shares climbed nearly 2% shortly after the opening bell on Monday.
Bandwidth issues were likely at fault: The company revealed 60 million households around the world tuned in to watch but did not address the technical problems.
But it's not the first time Netflix has faced technical glitches from its various live events, which have included comedy specials and reunion tapings. That's led to investor concerns the company won't be able to get things right in time for its NFL Christmas Day doubleheader, with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans.
Multiple users on social media platforms vented their frustrations , explicitly calling out the streaming issues and disruptions throughout the night.
Still, Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein shrugged off the customer complaints, writing in a note to clients on Sunday that viewing was likely twice as large as the company's internal expectations, "a high quality problem than can be easily fixed by Christmas Day."
Netflix inked a three-season deal with the NFL earlier this year to air the Christmas Day games, which will be produced by CBS Sports ( PARA ). The streamer reportedly coughed up about $75 million per game, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Late Sunday, the company announced Beyoncé as the headline performer during the Ravens vs. Texans halftime show. It will be the first time the artist will perform her Grammy-nominated album "Cowboy Cater" live.
Netflix's advertising focus
Assuming 2.5 viewers per household, Helfstein estimated about 150 million global viewers tuned in to watch the Tyson-Paul event. That's greater than the 124 million US viewers who watched the 2024 Super Bowl, the highest viewership for any US broadcast.
The analyst, who has an Outperform rating on shares, called out Netflix's ability to generate massive viewership, "suggesting the company will be successful with advertising around live events."
Last week, Netflix said its ad tier, now two years old, has reached 70 million global monthly active users, a significant jump from the 40 million users the company revealed at its second Upfront presentation in May.
Of note: Monthly active users, otherwise known as MAUs, are not the same as paying subscribers. The company has yet to reveal actual subscriber figures for the ad tier or how much revenue it's generated so far. MAUs can include multiple people using the same account.
Netflix recently beat Wall Street expectations across every major financial metric in its third quarter results on Oct. 17 , with shares surging to all-time highs as many analysts call Netflix the winner of the hard-fought streaming wars.
Still, the company recently revealed that year-over-year engagement levels came in roughly flat — a potential headwind when it comes to the company's ability to raise prices and boost growth.
"With much of the subscriber growth seemingly representing improved monetization of an existing (and not growing) user base, we question whether the momentum can continue into next year," MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman wrote in a recent note to clients.
Valuation has also been a concern, with Fishman adding that Netflix's stock "is massively expensive for a company whose own guidance implies a revenue deceleration into 2025." Last month, Netflix said its revenue growth is expected to slow from an expected 15% this year to between 11% and 13% in 2025.
Alexandra Canal @allie_canal , LinkedIn,
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