Jake Paul has been vocal about his belief that broadcasting platforms represent the future of boxing, and during a recent appearance on the TBPN podcast, he explained why he thinks the sport is moving away from the traditional pay-per-view model.
Discussing boxing’s evolution over the years, Paul outlined what he sees as the industry’s next major shift.
“There was the TV era of boxing, then there was the pay-per-view era, and now we’re in the str3aming era,” he said.
Paul argued that accessibility is driving that change. According to him, the key is making major events available through subscription-based services that audiences already use.
“I was the first one to realize that we had to pivot the business model to be accessible, where if you have Netflix or one of these subscriptions, you’re going to pay the $7 a month or $10 a month or whatever it is now,” he said.
While he believes broadcasting is the future, Paul acknowledged that pay-per-view events will likely continue to have a place in boxing.
“I’ll probably still do pay-per-view matches here and there,” he said. “But we’re definitely moving into the str3aming era of boxing.”
The conversation then turned to Paul’s match against Mike Tyson, which broadcasting live on Netflix and attracted enormous viewership. One of the hosts pointed to the event as evidence that the model works.
“The Tyson match broke Netflix, right?” Jeff Woo said. “That literally broke the platform.”
Netflix’s platform struggled under the sheer volume of viewers attempting to watch the event. For a company known for its engineering infrastructure and decades of technological development, it was a striking demonstration of the match’s popularity.
When discussing the business side of his success, Paul credited his longtime business partner, Nakisa Bidarian. He described Bidarian as “one of the best negotiators in the world” and praised his experience as a former UFC CFO who helped oversee the company’s sale to Endeavor.
According to Paul, those relationships and business connections have played a major role in securing opportunities such as the Netflix partnership.
The discussion also touched on why Paul’s position in the industry is difficult for others to replicate. Jeff Woo pointed to Paul’s unique combination of mainstream exposure and digital reach.
“He’s mainstreamed on the Netflix platforms as a professional athlete and has respect for actually being good at a craft and an art and a sport,” Woo said. “Plus he comes with like 200 million followers across different channels.”
Woo argued that the blend of mainstream credibility and a massive self-owned audience gives Paul leverage that very few athletes or entertainers possess.
