National Association of Broadcasters Pours Support on Buffer-Free Broadcasting in Live Sports

WASHINGTON D.C. - In the wake of widespread criticism surrounding Netflix's struggles with streaming problems during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has come to defense of traditional broadcast television.

In a blog post titled "The Buffer-Free MVP of Live Sports," Alex Siciliano, senior vice president of communications at the NAB, praised the reliability, free over-the-air access, and robust one-to-many architecture of traditional broadcast TV, dubbing it the "MVP" of live sports broadcasting.

"Serving hundreds of millions of viewers without a hitch, [broadcast television] is still the gold standard for delivering high-quality live sports," Siciliano wrote. "No costly subscriptions. No worrying about your internet speed. Just the excitement of the game, delivered in high-definition to your TV screen."

The criticism surrounding Netflix's streaming issues during the Paul vs. Tyson match came as a surprise to many, with the service struggling to keep up with the demand for live sports content. Despite this, Siciliano stressed that investments being made in NextGen TV will only improve the viewing experience.

"Unlike pay-TV services, [broadcast television] has 'one-to-many' architecture, meaning there is no limit to how many viewers can tune in and no risk of buffering," he noted. "This is a major advantage when it comes to delivering high-quality live sports content."

The commentary from the NAB came as analysts pointed to Netflix's ability to deliver unprecedented reach despite technical struggles during the Paul vs. Tyson match. Richard Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Partners, said that while Netflix can deliver unprecedented reach, its struggles highlight the need for sports executives to develop a "Netflix strategy" to stay ahead of the competition.

"This should be a wake-up call to every sports executive on planet earth," Greenfield wrote. "Despite technical struggles during the Tyson/Paul fight, Netflix has delivered an unprecedented 60 million households globally, with well over 100 million people watching live."

As the global reach of streaming platforms like Netflix continues to accelerate, traditional broadcast television remains a viable option for delivering high-quality, reliable live sports content.

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