Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight shows Netflix bid for live sports action

Key company figures at the streaming giant Netflix have previously been coy about its plans to enter the live sports market in the recent past. However, the upcoming boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul could be a big step for them as a major coup forthem in the industry.

This follows their £3.9billion partnership deal with WWE and events in golf and tennis.The fight between internet star Paul and former world heavyweight champion Tyson has caused a stir among boxing fans because of the 30-year age difference between the two.

But it seems that Netflix believes this event will attract fans of all ages to their platform. Paul, who started his career on Disney, is only ten fights into his professional career. He hopes that beating Tyson, known as the 'Baddest Man on the Planet', will boost his reputation in the sport.

Tyson is set to earn a whopping £15.7million just for stepping back into the ring, according MMA star Henry Cejudo in what will be only his third fight since he retired in 2005. However, one of the most important legacies of of this fight could be Netflix's involvement.

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The company has mostly stayed away from streaming live sports until recently. While rivals like Amazon Prime and Apple TV have made their mark in this area, Netflix's commitment to such broadcasts has been inconsistent - only really dipping into the market in the past year.

Paul directly gave credit to Netflix for helping to make this big match a reality as he announced the upcoming fight on his social media. Paul, an internet star, explained: "Within just two and a half years of founding MVP, we're about to produce the biggest fight in history."

"A fight in the biggest NFL stadium in the US, broadcast live, on the biggest streaming platform in the world a testament to all we've accomplished in such a short amount of time. Whether you're tuning in on Netflix or cheering in person, whether you're team Paul or team Tyson, or whether you're a lifelong boxing fan or watching your firstfight, you're not going to want to miss this event."

This will be only the third major live sports event organised by the company in its history. Earlier events include the very first Netflix Cup, a tournament featuring stars from Formula 1 and golf, and the Netflix Slam, which saw Carlos Alcaraz take on Rafael Nadal in a showcase tennis match earlier this year.

But these three live sports events and the big deal with WWE to stream shows like "Monday Night Raw" show that Netflix is changing its ways. Before, Netflix was known for making sports documentaries about famous athletes like Michael Jordan in "The Last Dance" and football star David Beckham in 'Beckham'.

Just last year, Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-chief executive, said: "Our position in live sports remains unchanged. We're super excited about the success of our sports-adjacent programming. We just launched a great [series] called Quarterbacks with the NFL. A few weeks ago we had Tour de France [Unchained] which did exactly what we saw with Drive to Survive and introduce a brand new audience to a sport that has been around for a long time but not really understood."

The key streaming service figure added: "You do that through exceptional storytelling, not through the 'live-ness' of the game. By doing that we can now offer this wide variety of programming for sports fans that's in season year round and it leans on our strength, which is storytelling."