RZ Ep. 54: Joachim Bergman - Netflix's Live Streaming Challenge: Beyond the Numbers

In this episode 54 of Retention Zone , I speak with streaming industry veteran Joachim Bergman about Netflix's recent milestone in live streaming with the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, which achieved a record-breaking 65 million peak concurrent streams globally.

We wanted to let the dust settle a bit, and clear the fields of the many debates that have occurred organically, often based on too many unknowns. We have attempted to summarize what we know, what we don't know and the impacts that we have seen for now and the near future. Looking ahead to the upcoming live streaming Netflix events.

A fun episode, talk show style, at least for us...

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Netflix's Live Streaming Challenge: Beyond the Numbers

In this episode of Retention Zone, I speak with streaming industry veteran Joachim Bergman about Netflix's recent milestone in live streaming with the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, which achieved a record-breaking 65 million peak concurrent streams globally. The conversation explores the broader implications for the streaming industry, customer retention, and the future of live sports streaming.

Breaking Records and Breaking Streams

The discussion centers around Netflix's achievement of hosting 65 million concurrent streams during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, with 38 million streams coming from the U.S. alone. This number represents a significant milestone in streaming history, surpassing previous records primarily held by Disney+ Hotstar in India. However, as Bergman points out, these numbers aren't directly comparable due to different streaming quality requirements: "In India, because of data rates and low ARPU, the stream quality is not the same... it could have been 50% higher traffic [for Netflix]."

The conversation highlighted that while Netflix experienced some technical difficulties during the event, the scale of what they achieved shouldn't be understated. As Bergman notes, "They have a very, very good platform... they can reach global audiences." This global reach and infrastructure puts Netflix in a unique position to secure and distribute worldwide rights for major events.

The Customer Retention Perspective

One of the most interesting insights from the discussion was about the impact of streaming issues on customer retention. Bergman offered an insightful analogy: "If you have a premium buffet of food... and there's always a signature dish... if the signature dish was not there, they were all out or something, then you would be very disappointed." However, he argues that live sports isn't Netflix's "signature dish" yet - it's an add-on to their core service.

"Netflix's signature dish was not this fight. This is not why people have Netflix," Bergman explains. "This is sort of icing on the cake." This perspective suggests that while the streaming issues were unfortunate, they likely won't significantly impact Netflix's customer retention.

Looking Ahead: Christmas NFL Games and WWE

The conversation then turned to Netflix's upcoming live sports events, including NFL games on Christmas Day and WWE Raw starting January 6th. These events will present new challenges and opportunities for Netflix's streaming infrastructure. As Giorgi notes, "The NFL games peaked at about 30 million [previously]... so in theory, they shouldn't test the 65 million concurrent."

However, both experts acknowledge that the "Netflix effect" could bring in casual viewers, especially during the holiday season. As Bergman suggests, "Maybe it's promoted... Could be quite interesting. Is Kansas Chiefs Playing... Perhaps daughters in the family who are Swifties would like to see KC play."

The Bigger Picture: Industry Implications

The discussion raised important questions about the future of streaming infrastructure and its ability to handle even larger events. As Bergman points out, "If you see it 65 [million] already with probably by far the best platform in the world and there were some issues... you scale this type of factor of 20" - referring to events like the FIFA World Cup that can draw a billion viewers.

Both experts agree that the current unicast streaming architecture might need further innovation to handle such massive scale. As Giorgi notes, "We're still playing the... youth game. So I think now it's getting serious."

Key Takeaways:

• Netflix's achievement of 65 million concurrent streams represents a significant milestone in streaming history
• Technical issues during live events might have less impact on customer retention when they're not the core service offering
• The streaming industry still faces challenges in scaling to traditional broadcast TV numbers
• Netflix's global infrastructure puts them in a unique position to secure and distribute worldwide rights
• Future innovations may be necessary to handle larger-scale global sporting events

The conversation concludes with an important observation about the industry's evolution. As Bergman notes, "It's difficult to extrapolate... [but it's] food for thought for some of the players in the industry to have an offering which the perceived value is perhaps not picked on... if it's more distributed, perhaps you... distribute the risk."

This episode provides valuable insights into the current state and future challenges of live sports streaming, particularly as major platforms like Netflix continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in terms of concurrent viewership and global distribution. The discussion emphasizes that while significant progress has been made, there's still much room for growth and innovation in the streaming industry.

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Retention Zone is presented by Cleeng, the Subscription Retention Management SAAS platform.

Retention Zone is hosted and produced by Carlo De Marchis (A guy with a scarf)