iWorld
Paul-Tyson fight most streamed sporting event ever: Netflix
MUMBAI: The record for concurrent viewers on a streamer (Disney+Hotstar) for cricket stands at 59 million during the ICC World Cup finals in 2023 between India and Australia. And that too in India with a population of 1.4 billion.
That record was left by the wayside during the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight which was streamed on Netflix, peaking at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million originating in the US. This made it the most streamed sporting event ever, said Netflix. The fight generated 46.6M views for the entire event.
Data provided by monitoring agency TVision revealed that almost 65 per cent off all US TV viewing between 12 am and 1 am EST on 15 November was accounted by the much publicised slugfest. The Paul-Tyson fight garnered an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally from opening to closing bell and continued to drive viewing into the weekend with an estimated AMA of 125 million (Live+1).
The event ranked at No 1 in 78 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, the UK and the US, and in the Top 10 in 91 countries tracked for the week of 11-17 November. The fight generated over 1.4B owned impressions across Netflix’s global social channels. #PaulTyson was the No 1 trending topic worldwide on X on Friday, said Netflix in a statement.
The live event also saw Katie Taylor defend her title as the undisputed super lightweight world champion in a brutal 10-round rematch against Amanda Serrano to become the most-watched professional women’s sports event in US history, averaging an estimated 74 million live viewers. #Serrano was the No. 2 trending topic on X Friday in the US, Brazil, Spain, and Canada.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
