When it comes to World Cup 2018 nightmares, the live YouTube TV streaming service is right up there with Germany’s exit in the group stage.
Google’s had an absolute Joachim Löw this tournament with a series of outages during live games. However, the straight red card offence came during Wednesday’s England vs Croatia semi-final in Moscow.
YouTube TV subscribers missed the entire second half due to a service outage, with coverage only returning during extra-time. As an YouTube TV-subscribing ex-pat living in the United States, it was the worst possible timing for an outage since 1990.
(Naturally, I just flipped over to the perfectly functional Fox Sports Go app, where YouTube TV log-ins are accepted and the game was live on network TV, but that’s besides the point).
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!
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) July 11, 2018
By means of an apology, YouTube TV is offering a free week to all subscribers. They’ll get $10 off their $40-a-month subscription. The company seems to think it pertinent to say the DVR recordings of the match are available in the library.
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This was also a point the YouTube TV customer service rep’ made when I complained after the game on Wednesday. My grievances were two-fold: 1) Do they not understand the concept that live sport has to be watched live? 2) Who could possibly sit through that again?
Anyway, they gave me a free month so you should probably kick up a stink and do the same, if you’re a YouTube TV subscriber. $10 doesn’t bring back something you’ve waited almost three decades to experience, am I right?
“We’re really sorry for the recent YouTube TV outage during the FIFA World Cup Semifinal,” YouTube said in an email. “To help make this right, we’d like to give you a week of free service.”
There’s no making this right. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 28 years for another opportunity to watch England play in a World Cup semi-final.
What’s been the worst timed streaming outage you’ve ever experienced? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
