The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson bout that brought massive viewership numbers to Netflix last week also resulted in a record-setting gate.
Paul’s unanimous-decision victory over Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday has netted a gate of $18,117,072, a number that Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions says shatters the U.S. record for a boxing or MMA event held outside of Las Vegas.
More than 72,300 fans were in attendance, MVP said, with an average ticket price of $304.
Netflix and MVP reported Tuesday that the fight was the most-streamed sporting event ever, peaking at 65 million concurrent streams with an estimated average minute audience of 108 million live viewers worldwide.
The co-main event, in which Katie Taylor won a unanimous decision over Amanda Serrano to remain the undisputed world junior welterweight women’s champion, averaged 74 million live viewers globally, according to Netflix and MVP.
“From setting the highest gate outside of Las Vegas in U.S. history for a combat sports event to becoming the most streamed sporting event in U.S. history, this event is a testament to the global impact of Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, and the incredible athletes on this card,” MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement. “We’re proud to have partnered with Netflix to deliver an event that brought fans together worldwide and broke many records.”
Overall, the Tyson-Paul gate is the ninth-highest for a U.S. boxing match. The record was set in 2015, when Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquaio raked in more than $72 million at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The event was Netflix’s first foray into streaming a live sporting event, and many viewers complained on social media about losing the feed and buffering. Netflix is slated to stream two NFL games on Christmas Day — the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans, with the latter game featuring a live halftime performance by Beyoncé.
“While it wasn’t a perfect experience for all of our members, we are 100% committed to doing even better for our next LIVE events, NFL’s two Christmas Day games,” Netfilx chief marketing officer Marian Lee wrote of the Tyson-Paul fight on LinkedIn.