Who needs upfronts anyway? Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, Netflix‘s first live sporting event, has been stuffed with Netflix promotion during its first broadcast hour.
The main event began at 8 p.m. EST on Friday, and almost immediately there was plenty of Netflix self-promotion. The initial bit of entertainment before the first fight was a performance from “America’s Sweethearts” subjects, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Given that the fight is taking place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas — the home of the Cowboys — the synergy proved irresistible.
The first match on the main card was a super middleweight fight between India’s Neeraj Goyat and Brazil’s Whindersson Nunes. During the course of the fight, it was revealed that Nunes has three comedy specials on Netflix, and Goyat made an appearance on the streamer’s “Ultimate Beastmaster: India.”
In between rounds during the Goyat and Nunes fight, a gang of “Squid Game” guards were shown sitting together in the crowd, offering the announcer a chance to mention that the show was headed back for a second season this winter.
During the Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos fight, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka from “Cobra Kai” were shown sitting in the crowd, at which point a new trailer for the series was shown.
The Netflix logo was inescapable everywhere, from shots of the ring, the chairs, interstitial graphics, and even the announcer’s notecards. Even the various announcers were not above making some puns about the streaming, including one who said, as the evening was about to begin, “It’s time to Netflix and Thrill!”
Netflix shared partnership space with many other brands, including highly visible advertising from Pepsi, Celsius, DraftKings, Meta Quest, Experian and more.