Jake Paul reacts after being slapped by Mike Tyson during the weigh-in before their heavyweight bout on Thursday, November 14, 2024 in Irving, Texas. Photo Credit: AP

Friday’s showdown between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul is Netflix’s latest one-two punch as the media giant hopes to capitalize on the sport’s sprint to streaming.

The intergenerational showdown has all the makings of a crossover hit, with 58-year-old Tyson bringing in the old guard and Paul, 27, who shot to early fame on YouTube attracting younger, screen-toting social media junkies. ,

Available at no additional charge to all of Netflix’s more than 280 million subscribers, it could be a welcome change for American boxing fans long accustomed to paying extra to watch major matches on longtime broadcaster HBO.

“The trend in all sports right now is to move some of their properties toward streaming,” said San Francisco-based sports marketing analyst Bob Dorfman.

“These are two huge personalities – this has the potential to become the biggest streaming sports event ever.”

American subscription television network HBO announced in 2018 that it was removing live boxing from its programming, ending a 45-year relationship with the sport and leaving a broadcast void in its wake.

Netflix has previously dabbled in sports content with exhibition golf and tennis programs and the wildly popular documentary “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” which is credited with sparking the popularity of the auto racing circuit in the US.

The fight, taking place at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, its first live boxing event, works in favor of Netflix’s strategy of providing proprietary content that viewers can’t get anywhere else.

Although the fight will not feature traditional advertising, it will feature sponsors whose messages will be part of the live streamed event.

Advertising is not a major contributor to the streamer’s current revenue, although its ad-supported tier is growing rapidly, with a reported 70 million subscribers this week, up from 40 million in May.

Former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson said the mega-event is a sign of an enduring love affair between sports and streaming, though he anticipates that streaming and traditional broadcasting will co-exist for the foreseeable future.

Pilson, president of Pilson Communications, said, “This is a one-time event… It’s more of a novelty in my view. It doesn’t change the industry.”

“The industry is still going to be driven by league deals (like) MLS, NFL, Major League Baseball.”

Amazon Prime picked up Thursday Night Football in 2021 and MLS signed a 10-year mega-deal worth $2.5 billion with Apple TV in 2022.

Major League Baseball signed a deal with Apple for weekly doubleheaders “Friday Night Baseball” in 2022.

The league is gravitating toward streaming both because it reaches a global audience, including younger viewers who may not be watching traditional television.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the Apple streaming platform allows MLS to better take advantage of the game’s global fan base.

“We were seeing the difficulty in getting audiences and getting the economics right with local and regional television — we saw that in 2018,” Garber said at the Paley International Council summit this week.

“We wanted to go to market with a global package… We have a global subscription, every one of our 600 games is treated like ‘Monday Night Football.’