While YouTube may seem old in the age of fast moving technology, YouTube TV is still in its infancy stages. The number of YouTube TV subscribers seemingly climbs each day, but there have been a few setbacks. In May, YouTube TV users had difficulty using the platform during parts of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals. Today, the online video streaming service had a similar issue when it suffered a major service disruption during a 2018 World Cup Semifinal match between Croatia and England. Luckily, users we’re still able to watch the game by authenticating their user credentials through Fox’s Sports Go app. However, the online video platform still caught the backlash of fans and subscribers alike.
During the fiasco, YouTube tweeted, “Hey everyone — sincere apologies for streaming issues with YouTube TV. The timing is horrible but we’re working to be up and running again ASAP!” After an hour of service disruption issues, YouTube appeared to have the problem under control when it tweeted, “And we’re back! Enjoy the rest of #ENGCRO by going to https://tv.youtube.com/live . We are so sorry about the service interruption and we understand your frustration. If you continue to experience issues let @TeamYouTube know.”
Service disruption during two high profile sports events in just two months is a not a good look for the platform that locked in to deals with MLS teams this year. If YouTube TV continues to grow, this will surely be a problem in the future.
