The Microsoft outage prevented ESPN from airing SportsCenter. Screen grab: ESPN
By Ben Axelrod on

Even if you’re somehow able to read this, odds are you have already been affected by the global Microsoft outage on Friday morning.

That was certainly the case at ESPN, which was unable to air its A.M. SportsCenter amid the outage, which was reportedly caused by a flawed security update by the global security firm CrowdStrike. In place of SportsCenter, ESPN aired the video simulcast of its Unsportsmanlike radio show, which was hosted by Freddie Coleman and Courtney Cronin.

Meanwhile, SportsCenter anchors Gary Striewski and Randy Scott took to X to share what they were doing instead of working.

“Good morning America. Do you have internet? Stop bragging about it,” Striewski said. “We don’t either here at Bristol HQ.”

“A little spotty. A little hit or miss,” Scott added.

“We would take spotty right now actually,” Striewski replied.

Apparently, ESPN’s issues are only limited to its Bristol, Connecticut, headquarters, as Get Up was able to air from its Seaport District Studios in New York City at 8 a.m. Eastern. The show, however, didn’t go on without a hitch, as it has been unable to use graphics or b-roll throughout at least its first hour.

Yet despite the entire planet currently dealing with technical difficulties, Domonique Foxworth was somehow able to join the morning program remotely from Washington D.C.

“That picture tells maybe a thousand words, if not more,” Mike Greenberg said as the camera panned from a Microsoft troubleshooting graphic that filled one of the show’s monitors. “If you are joining us this morning from anywhere on planet Earth, you are probably already aware that there are massive computer outages that are impacting almost every element of our lives.

“Don’t ask me to explain them to you, I’m certainly not capable of doing so. I can tell you, however, that our program today is going to look a little bit different. We do not have video, we do not have soundbites and we do not have graphics.”

Considering the scale of the outage, more hiccups at ESPN — and elsewhere — are likely to come. But if nothing else, the issues have provided an opportunity for those in the TV business to showcase their creativity, as evidenced by Get Up‘s “Sneaky Hembo” segment.

[Awful Announcing on X]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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