Netflix fight night drove new subscription spike

New Netflix subscribers spike amid fight night

New U.S. Netflix subscribers grew 42.3% YoY the week leading up to the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, according to Earnest credit card data. Netflix described the boxing event as the most-streamed sporting event in history. Viewership peaked at 65 million streams from 60 million households and over 6,000 bars and restaurants. The accompanying documentary series “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson” also ranked second among Netflix’s most-viewed shows the night before the match.

The standard Netflix subscription plan remained the largest share of gross adds in the week ending November 16th. However the ad-tier plan accounted for almost one-third of gross adds, up from 24% share the week prior. As a result, average ticket declined -10.8% YoY during the same week (see chart in Dash).  

Netflix plans to continue its exclusive sports event strategy by hosting two NFL games on Christmas Day 2024. 

Online gambling deposits accelerated before Netflix fight night

Netflix fight night was not only a win for the platform, but also for online sports gambling. Online Gambling deposits accelerated 8.3 points on a trailing-4-week (T4W) basis in the month leading up to the match. BetMGM grew the most–desposits increased 12.5 points on a T4W basis before the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson match.

The match attracted new and existing online gamblers alike. Transactions from new BetMGM depositors jumped 16 points on a T4W basis in the week leading up to the event. Existing BetMGM depositors also grew by 7.8 points over the same period (see data on Dash). “More bets were placed — and more money wagered…than any other boxing match… in sportsbook BetMGM’s nearly seven-year history.”

New BetMGM customers deposited an average of $78 during the week ending November 16th. Existing customers, who typically deposit more, averaged $103 per BetMGM deposit (see data in Dash).