Netflix Stock Stumbles Pre-Market After Tyson Vs. Paul Fight Streaming Fiasco: Retail Is Divided

Shares of Netflix, Inc. ($NFLX) slipped in pre-market trading on Monday following issues with the platform’s biggest live sports event to date — the highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. 

While Netflix reported that the event was a record-breaking success, with 60 million households tuning in and a peak of 65 million concurrent streams, technical glitches marred the experience for many viewers.

Several reports indicated that tens of thousands of users were unable to access the livestream, with widespread complaints about the service failing to load. 

The hashtag #NetflixCrash trended on X (formerly Twitter) in the U.S. on Friday night, as Downdetector reportedly received over 500,000 outage reports. 

Despite the hiccups, those who managed to watch the event saw Jake Paul go easy on the 58-year-old Tyson over eight rounds, a display that left some fans underwhelmed.

The streaming giant is betting on live sports to boost subscriber growth, with plans to expand its offerings to include NFL games and WWE programming. 

Upcoming highlights include two NFL matchups this Christmas, featuring a halftime show by Beyoncé during the Ravens vs. Texans game.

However, Monday’s pre-market action suggests investor skepticism about Netflix’s ability to deliver on its live-streaming ambitions, especially if technical issues persist. 

NFLX sentiment and message volume Nov 18 premarket as of 7:30 am ET | source: Stocktwits

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was mixed, holding in the ‘neutral’ zone (51/100), but message volume surged by nearly 44% for the week leading up to Friday. 

Bearish users took shots at Netflix for the streaming glitches:

Conversely, some bulls remained optimistic, highlighting the strong viewership numbers as a positive sign:

Netflix shares have soared by 69% year-to-date, significantly outperforming broader indices and rivals like Walt Disney Co. ($DIS), which has seen a 27% gain in the same period. 

Last week, JPMorgan’s Doug Anmuth reaffirmed his confidence in Netflix’s growth trajectory, citing strong fourth quarter (Q4) content, potential for beating 2025 revenue and margin targets, and robust free cash flow. 

The analyst also highlighted Netflix’s solid organic growth, ramping ad contributions, and strategic price hikes as key drivers.