Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-Serrano 3 Card at MSG

The streaming service again partners with EverWonder Studio, Kwokman Productions, NEP

Although tonight’s historic Katie Taylor–Amanda Serrano 3 card at Madison Square Garden is only Netflix’s second outing in the ring, the streamer’s production efforts have already come a long way from last November’s much ballyhooed Jake Paul–Mike Tyson fight. In addition to addressing bandwidth and capacity issues, Netflix has enhanced its graphics and AR package and boosted its overall production complement for the highly anticipated night of all-women’s boxing.

“As with all our productions,” says Jonathan Mussman, VP, production and post, nonfiction and live, Netflix, “we use our unique culture to guide our approach and decision-making, with our primary focus always on providing joy for our members. That’s our North Star, and we are all super-excited to bring another impactful fight to their screens. We’re expecting this to be another memorable night of unforgettable sports at no additional cost to our subscribers.”

Partnered Up: EverWonder, Kwokman, and NEP Play Big Roles

Taylor and Serrano, the No. 2 and No. 3 women’s pound-for-pound fighters, are headlining the first-ever all-female boxing card in the history of Madison Square Garden tonight, and Netflix is pulling out all the stops for its live coverage.

Netflix has once again partnered with EverWonder Studio and Kwokman Productions — the same duo that helped produce its NFL Christmas Game Day games in 2024. EverWonder (Netflix’s production-company partner) provides creative advisory and oversight from weigh-in through fight night, and Kwokman leads technical and operational services throughout the production, including outbound transmissions.

“Our technical-production team has already been focused on increasing bandwidth and capacity,” says Mussman. “We’re excited to see how New York City’s high-energy environment will amplify these efforts.”

NEP, another constant in Netflix’s live-sports-broadcast efforts thus far, is once again playing a major role in tonight’s livestream. Netflix relies on NEP’s core infrastructure, including its Supershooter 24 mobile unit onsite at MSG. All feeds are transported from the venue to NEP’s Dallas datacenter, which is handling signal acquisition and serving as Netflix’s network-operations center.

The datacenter distributes the feeds to three of NEP’s U.S.-based facilities: Production Hub LA serves as Netflix’s broadcast-operations center (BOC); Production Hub South Florida provides disaster-recovery and multi-language–production services for the world feed (with no commercial insertion); Production Hub New York provides commercial insertion (for the U.S. feed only) and operations support. The setup allows Netflix members across the globe to experience the live coverage not only in English but also in multiple languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Castilian Spanish (chosen by Netflix based on previous global engagement and interest).

“We’re committed to our global subscribers and service,” says Mussman. “Our team is focused on creating diverse content to boost engagement worldwide, especially for those outside the U.S.”

Fight Night at MSG: Upgraded Graphics, AR, LED Furniture, Camera Complement

As for the fight coverage itself, Netflix has made enhancing its graphics and AR package a priority for tonight’s fight.

“We have elevated our unique graphics and augmented-reality integration from where we were last year,” says Mussman. “While it is only our second boxing event, we feel we have made a major upgrade to the package.”

Another big addition on fight night will be new custom-designed and -built sports-branded furniture showcased at the host stage. The furniture features embedded LED panels and audio and video controls, allowing integration of graphics into the LED panels and custom lighting within the desk.

From a coverage standpoint, Mussman says, Netflix and its partners have tailored the camera plan specifically to one of the world’s most iconic boxing venues. Returning to the camera arsenal are a ROBYCAM cable-suspended system (paired with AR activations), Sony HDC-4300 super-slo-mo cameras, and a manned beauty shot. In addition, Netflix will deploy a JitaCam, a Sony FX6 full-frame cinema camera with DJI Ronin gimble, and multiple Sony HDC-F5500’s (a mix of RF handhelds and desk cameras) with Fujinon DUVO lenses (14-100) to add a more cinematic look to the storytelling.

“Our continued commitment to storytelling embedded within a curated night of pure sport will be the focus,” he notes. “On the main card, two of the top female athletes in the sport will compete head-to-head. Our coverage and content will reflect how big this event is for the sport of boxing, set against the backdrop of an iconic venue in New York City, with this being the first-ever all-female boxing card in the history of Madison Square Garden.”

Beyond the Livestream: Netflix Ups Its SVOD Game, Ramps Up Features Unit 

Behind the scenes and with little fanfare, Netflix’s SVOD team has prepared multiple cloud-based workflows to allow quick-turnaround edits in making clips almost instantaneously available on the service. Netflix and its partners will rely on Pronology and other specialized tools to ensure that the highest-quality version goes to air immediately after postproduction. In addition, the SVOD/postproduction team will be primarily offsite and in the cloud, allowing Netflix to remotely deploy the best talent throughout the U.S.

A key component of the SVOD clips will be the broadcast-clearances team’s reducing the amount of audio bleed from the house PA into broadcast-talent mics. “Our SVOD team is at the cutting edge of delivering content as close to real time as possible,” says Mussman. “And our technology group has worked painstakingly to identify technologies that can assist with [the house-PA-audio] challenge.

Netflix’s features team is also producing high-end pieces that will be used within the live broadcast and on social media. “The team is cutting together the standard high-end content that boxing viewers have come to expect at high-end fights,” he says. “With our research and stats team, we have worked to identify, produce, and edit small nuggets of content.”

Also on the original-content front, Netflix dropped Countdown: Taylor vs. Serrano on July 3. Narrated by Uma Thurman, the behind-the-scenes film follows the fighters’ intense journey and preparations in training for their historic third fight.

Touch Gloves: Netflix Is Ready for Big Night of Boxing

As Netflix continues to chart its live-sports course, tonight will serve as a major marker in its evolution. Mussman is leading the production and logistics efforts, alongside Vicki Prieto, director, production management, live, and Danny Lopez, manager, production management, live sports. Leading the charge on the creative side are Brandon Riegg, VP, nonfiction series and sports; Gabe Spitzer, VP, sports; and Kate Jackson, director, sports. Also playing key roles on the production side are EverWonder CEO Ian Orefice and President Mike Antinoro and Kwokman President Matthew Kwok.

After a bumpy but highly successful first outing in the ring with Paul–Tyson last fall, Mussman says, a successful broadcast tonight will consist of a “smooth and flawless viewing experience at home and, of course, an action-packed, historic feud boxing match between two indomitable champions. This will be one of the most exciting finales to what has been an unbelievable boxing trilogy.”