How to Avoid Buffering During Netflix’s NFL Christmas Games

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, I’m a little nervous about Netflix having the NFL Christmas games. The Tyson and Paul fight was a mess! It was buffering and freezing up all during the fight. Do you have any suggestions on how to avoid buffering during the Christmas games if Netflix screws up again? – Steve, Fairfax, Virginia.

Steve, you’re right. Netflix did suffer widespread technical issues during last month’s exclusive stream of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight. Fans complained throughout the evening’s fight card that their picture would freeze up or experience buffering, aka the dreaded spinning wheel. With Netflix the exclusive carrier of tomorrow’s Christmas NFL doubleheader (Chiefs-Steelers at 1 p.m. ET; Ravens-Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET), it’s fair to be concerned that the stream will suffer glitches if not a complete outage. After all, the Tyson-Paul fight was not the first time that Netflix has had problems with a live stream.

Netflix officials say they are confident that they have determined what caused the boxing buffering and that it won’t happen again during the NFL games. But if the stream goes awry, is there anything you can do at home to limit any picture interruptions, if not actually avoid them altogether?

Well, the bad news is that if Netflix’s servers have a virtual meltdown, it really won’t matter what you do at home. The picture will freeze, buffer or worse and it will be up to Netflix to fix the problem. The home viewer will just have to wait it out.

But if the technical issue is not catastrophic – the Netflix servers simply have occasional difficulty keeping up with demand (the number of viewers logging in to watch the games) – there is something you can do at home to maintain a reliable picture.

If the picture starts to falter, test your Internet speed by using a service such as Speedtest.net or Netflix’s Fast.com. If your speed seems normal, then you can rule out that the problem is on your end.

If that’s the case, then try connecting your Smart TV (or device such as a Roku or Fire TV) directly to the Internet modem with an Ethernet cable. That will bypass the WiFi network entirely and (hopefully) deliver a stronger and more stable signal to your set.

The WiFi network can slow down your home Internet speed (particularly if you have multiple people using it at the same time) so the direct connection hopefully will help prevent a picture loss in case Netflix’s signal has some ups and downs.

If you don’t want to connect your modem directly to your streaming device, you could also try moving the modem closer to the device.  Vizio, the TV maker, recommends that your Smart TV (or another Smart TV device) be positioned no more than 30 feet away from your Internet modem. Otherwise, the signal could be blocked by the walls or other obstacles in the house.

Steve, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

Have a question about a favorite show or new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered television for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch TV. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.