Movies

Huge sports events are coming to streaming. Is the technology ready for prime time?

BBG News

Huge sports events are coming to streaming. Is the technology ready for prime time?

As a long-time observer of the ever-evolving world of streaming and sports, I must admit that the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight on Netflix was both exhilarating and exasperating. On one hand, it’s fascinating to witness the power of technology bringing global events into our living rooms at the click of a button. But on the other, the technical difficulties experienced by countless viewers were a stark reminder that we still have a way to go before we can truly call streaming services like Netflix a seamless experience.

The highly anticipated boxing match between Mike Tyson and YouTube-converted boxer Jake Paul, streamed by Netflix, showcased the capability of online streaming platforms to organize worldwide live sports events. However, for numerous viewers, it also highlighted the boundaries of current technology.

Many Netflix users encountered technical issues as they attempted to watch the fight. Annoyed spectators faced buffering and pixelated video, a consequence of numerous households trying to stream the match simultaneously. This type of problem, had it been broadcast on a conventional network, might have triggered a wave of complaints to cable providers.

Live sports is considered one of the great opportunities for streamers, including Netflix, which need mass audiences tuning in to please advertisers. Companies including Amazon and Apple are spending big, driving up the price of live sports rights and encroaching further on the turf of legacy network rivals.

However, it’s not just smooth sailing for technology companies in the sports domain. Live streams, despite being free from buffering or grainy feed issues, often lag behind traditional cable and satellite broadcasts. This delay can lead streaming viewers to unintentionally encounter spoilers on social media if simultaneous broadcasts of events occur.

For Netflix, there’s a lot riding on these upcoming events. In the coming Christmas, they will broadcast their first live NFL games, including one with a highly anticipated halftime performance by Beyoncé. Additionally, starting from next year, Netflix plans to air the popular WWE “Raw” pro-wrestling franchise.

Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, expressed confidence in their engineering team, affirming that they have gained valuable insights from the live match between Paul and Tyson and will make necessary adjustments before broadcasting NFL games. Netflix confirmed that they acted promptly to enhance the viewing experience for most of its subscribers during the boxing event where Logan Paul emerged victorious over Mike Tyson, who is 31 years his senior.

Riegg explained to The Times that the turnout for the event was significantly greater than we anticipated. In other words, the number of attendees surpassed our expectations by a considerable margin. Our team couldn’t have foreseen such a massive influx of traffic and viewership unless it was an actual, real-life situation, which is exactly what occurred.

In a positive light, the fight on Netflix attracted a substantial number of sports enthusiasts worldwide, with approximately 108 million people watching live globally. Netflix boasted about having 65 million concurrent live streams at once, claiming it as the “most-watched global sporting event in streaming history.

Experts predict that in the future, streaming services might even have the ability to make a bid to air the Super Bowl on their platforms, providing they can effectively manage the heavy traffic that would come with it.

According to Rob Rosenberg, a former executive at Showtime Networks and the founder of Telluride Legal Strategies in New York, if they can demonstrate that they’re capable of consistently providing a high-quality, reliable, superior, luxury experience for these events as consumers now anticipate, I am confident we will achieve our goal.

Technical difficulties aren’t exclusive to Netflix. In fact, similar issues have surfaced during live events streamed on rival platforms like YouTube (during an NFL game last year) and Amazon’s Prime Video (during a Thursday Night Football game in 2022).

There are various reasons why buffering occurs, particularly with a highly-anticipated program.

During live streaming of sports events, the footage is broken down into short clips and sent to subscribers as they become available. These clips are then decoded on the user’s device. If too many users are trying to access these clips simultaneously, it can lead to a buildup or congestion. Streaming providers may attempt to alleviate this issue by redirecting traffic, but sometimes that isn’t sufficient.

Anticipating demand can be challenging for streaming platforms as they may purchase additional bandwidth from internet service providers in advance. However, predicting viewership, particularly when the platform is new to a specific genre of content, can prove tricky due to uncertainties in audience interest.

There may be limits on how much bandwidth companies can buy. For example, Australia has much less available bandwidth compared with the United States, said Simon Wistow, a co-founder and vice president of strategic initiatives at cloud computing company Fastly.

Wistow added that if streamers buy too much capacity and it isn’t used, that’s wasted money.

Wistow stated, “There are numerous intricacies, an endless stream of events happening. Year after year, the volume of internet traffic continues to grow significantly.

Netflix announced plans to enhance their systems to effectively manage large-scale live events, as well as collaborate with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to boost their overall capacity.

The business has been consistently hosting more real-time events, including a hot dog eating contest, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a tennis showcase match. Last year, their first live event was a Chris Rock comedy special that garnered 23 million views. An initial attempt at live broadcasting, a “Love Is Blind” reunion special, faced technical difficulties due to an oversight of a bug that became apparent only when viewers attempted to watch the program.

The Paul vs. Tyson event was a new milestone for Netflix’s live streaming efforts.

To Florida’s resident Malcolm Scott and others like him, the problems with the streamer were simply not tolerated. In fact, Scott took legal action against Netflix by filing a breach of contract lawsuit last week. He claimed that viewers of Netflix missed significant chunks of the fight due to technical issues. However, Netflix chose not to comment on the ongoing legal matter.

Brian Comiskey, an expert on future technology at the Consumer Technology Association, attributed Netflix’s issues to the natural growing discomfort that comes with technological advancement.

Comiskey commented, “By the close of the day, we’re receiving content that’s traveling thousands of miles through digital files.” He identified himself as a millennial who can recall the days before smartphones. “This is an outstanding leap in technology,” he said, “but it’s just the beginning of even greater advancements.

According to Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s head of media and commercial operations, he is confident that Netflix will soon be prepared to broadcast their sports programming.

Rolapp stated at the Sports Business Journal Media Innovators Conference that the deal underscores the strength of their worldwide platform and global presence, which is one factor that led to our decision. In other words, he thought what they accomplished was truly exceptional.

Read More

2024-11-27 22:01

Previous post Gangs of London star confirmed for new BBC drama
Next post Mrs Brown’s Boys star Brendan O’Carroll claims making a racist joke on set ‘was a GOOD thing’ for the BBC because it showed they ‘don’t take any messing’