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 declined to directly comment on the glitches when asked by Yahoo Finance.
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 more than 2% in afternoon trade on Monday.
Bandwidth issues were likely at fault: The company revealed 60 million households around the world tuned in to watch. It alluded to the technical problems in an Instagram post, saying the event “even had our buffering systems on the ropes.”
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.
