I figured that Paul vs. Tyson, the recent non-pay-per-view live broadcast, would not last long on top of Netflix’s Top 10 list, and it has indeed come crashing down after this weekend.
The Jake Paul and Mike Tyson 5+ hour stream was at #1 but is now all the way down to #8 already, not just because people were done watching the PPV, but that no one wanted to catch the non-live version given that they must have heard how outrageously terrible the fight actually was, a boring ten round slugfest where it felt like both parties were barely trying to score actual knockouts, and ultimately Paul took it on points.
Now, we have an actual TV show back at #1, which would be the middle section of the final season of Cobra Kai, which Netflix has split into thirds for some unspeakable reason. This season has a stellar 98% critic score and 92% audience score, so it seems like things are going to end on a high note here, which is nice to see.
Second on the list is Arcane, which too has released another batch of episodes as Netflix continues to experiment with non-instant binging of whole seasons. Arcane has maintained a perfect critic score for these gut-wrenching new episodes, and it remains arguably one of the most beloved shows the streaming service has ever produce, albeit not one of the most-watched.
Outer Banks, another season broken up, with season 5 split in half, remains at #3, and there’s one more season to go after this that will no doubt be split as well. Hopefully not in thirds. Number four is new series The Cage, a scripted French show about an MMA fighter. At #5 we have AP Bio, newly added to Netflix and a solid series that I’m not surprised is doing well. The Diplomat is hanging on at #10 toward the end of the list, still there after nearly three weeks, indicating the type of performance that already has it renewed for season 3.
You may think the Paul vs. Tyson fight was a big failure, but it was the second most-watched “event” in Netflix history, only second to The Roast of Tom Brady, indicating that more events like this are likely to follow, even if Jake Paul is (hopefully) not involved. Netflix wants a piece of all pies, and if that includes scooping up things from pay-per-view, that’s what they’re going to do, no matter what it costs. These numbers tell the story.
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