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Tampa attorney filing class-action lawsuit over failed Netflix stream of Jake Paul, Mike Tyson fight

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Published  November 20, 2024 6:36pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa lawyer is about to take on one of the most influential media companies in the world.

After the Netflix stream crashed for potentially millions of users during last weekend's fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, consumer attorney Billy Howard is demanding their money back.

Howard said instead of seeing "The Baddest Man on the Planet" take on Youtuber-turned-prize fighter Jake Paul, they saw what Howard called "The Baddest Stream on the Planet." 

READ: NFL fans worried about Christmas games streamed on Netflix after Paul-Tyson fight buffering debacle

Viewers experienced buffering and streaming issues, and Netflix admitted they faced technical challenges. Now, Howard has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the streaming company should have known it could not deliver the product at the scale promised.

The consumer attorney said while the problems didn't cause pain and suffering, the members of his lawsuit deserve restitution.

"[Netflix] didn't produce anything. Some people did not get to watch the fight. Period. End of story," he said. "Most people saw part of it. And that's why we have juries in our country. What is that worth? Is it worth, you know, enough money to go buy a purple Lamborghini? Probably not. But it's worth getting your money back. It's worth something for the problems that you went through."

RELATED: Netflix responds to streaming issues during Tyson-Paul fight

Netflix has not responded to our request for comment, but immediately after the fight, Netflix reportedly said in a note to its employees:

"This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers. "i’m sure many of you have seen the chatter in the press and on social media about the quality issues. We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members, and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success."

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