The failure of Netflix to use Nielsen to provide an accurate measurement of the audience for the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight raises a fair question as to whether Netflix will do the same thing for its pair of Christmas Day NFL games.
As it turns out, that question has already been answered. Last week. Just days before Paul-Tyson.
So, yes, the numbers for Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Steelers will be real. And presumably spectacular.
And here’s the next question. If Netflix will be using Nielsen for the NFL games, why didn’t Netflix use Nielsen for the fight?
The most likely answer is that the NFL required Netflix to use Nielsen. Without such a requirement, Netflix was able to rely on less objective numbers that could be potentially manipulated and inflated.