With Fox holding the rights to Super Bowl LI, the network was planning to also stream the big game on Fox Sports Go. The stream worked great for a while, and then the fourth quarter started.
https://twitter.com/PeteSkerritt/status/828431331763830784
No, really, it actually did.
@FOXSportsGOHelp Your app pooped the bed with 13 minutes of the game left! Apple TV, on the computer, just showing fox sports go logo
— Benedict Beer Blog (@PatrickBenedict) February 6, 2017
Did the @FoxSports Go app stream just die for anyone else? #SB51
(@xd1936) February 6, 2017
So glad @FOXSports Go app dies before I get to finish watching the @AtlantaFalcons wreck the @Patriots ….
— Kenneth Fulton (@klfulton88) February 6, 2017
Naturally this happened as the New England Patriots’ historic comeback truly began to take shape.
Annnnd the Fox Sports Go App just died in the 4th Qt. Technology
— Paisley Erin Parker (@paisleyparkuh) February 6, 2017
Watching the #SuperBowl on @foxsportsgo. Good game! #FOXSportsGO pic.twitter.com/APBnEjBHZQ
— Jason Walker (@_WalkerJason) February 6, 2017
But then people discovered it was just the English stream that wasn’t working.
#FOXSportsGO's english stream is down so now I'm forced to watch en espanol and let me say I am muy frustrado about the whole experience.
— Cordo (@ProfessorQweer) February 6, 2017
Why can I only get the Fox Sports Go stream in Spanish???@FOXSportsGOHelp #SB51
— Kevin Wiles, Jr (@kwilesjrphoto) February 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/BrettPowell2/status/828434449717198849
It’s safe to say the person with one of the worst jobs in the world right now is the person (or people?) running the FOX Sports GO Help account. They tried giving everyone every different possible way to fix this issue.
I was asking what type of device you watching on, computer, tablet or connected device?
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
Please try restarting your device to see if the feed corrects itself.
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
Can you try to close out the stream, then reload it?
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
Can you try power cycling your device?
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
Can you try to exit out of the stream, then reselect the game chip?
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
Are you on Wifi or hardwired?
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
Are your location services enabled? Where are you currently located?
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
SB LI is available in FSGO on desktop, tablets and connected devices. Verizon Mobile users can stream in the NFL Mobile App.
— FOX Sports GO Help (@FOXSportsGOHelp) February 6, 2017
But nothing was working. Fortunately, the app did come back partway through the quarter, so fans were able to see the Patriots’ game-tying drive and then overtime. That is, if they hadn’t already given up in frustration.
It’s understandable that streaming issues can happen, especially when you’re dealing with an event the size of the Super Bowl. Still, that scale also means issues and outages get noticed by many more people, and it’s especially tough when those happen at a crucial moment. At least FOX has a couple years to improve FOX Sports Go before their next Super Bowl.