While Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Peacock, and several other streaming services are moving into streaming live sports, Netflix has resisted that trend so far. And based on how the service fumbled its attempt at a live special for Love Is Blind on Sunday night, it might be quite a while before Netflix is ready for live sports.
Netflix attempted to air a live reunion for the Love Is Blind season 4 cast, but due to technical difficulties, the live stream never happened. When the show was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET, fans across the world saw error messages on the streaming platform. Netflix first announced that the live stream would be 15 minutes late, but when they were unable to solve the problem, they ultimately decided to pre-record the show and post it on Netflix later on Sunday evening.
To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned. We're filming it now and we'll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and…
— Netflix (@netflix) April 17, 2023
“To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned. We’re filming it now and we’ll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and sorry,” Netflix said in a tweet on Sunday evening.
Obviously, Netflix took plenty of heat on social media as a result of the debacle, even from some of their past and present competitors.
— Hulu (@hulu) April 17, 2023
Remember renting vhs’ from us. You could start it on time no problem… This is what we get.
— Blockbuster (@blockbuster) April 17, 2023
Netflix servers right now https://t.co/okRgSC9y95
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 17, 2023
NETFLIX YOU WILL CRUMBLE! pic.twitter.com/tW82YVcxTs
— Desus MF Nice💯 (@desusnice) April 17, 2023
While this was embarrassing for Netflix on several levels, perhaps the most striking takeaway from this disaster is that the platform is clearly not ready for live sports. The streaming platform has circled live sports rights for years, but to this point has not gone that route, instead opting for documentaries like the successful Drive to Survive.
Love Is Blind fans were undeniably frustrated with the technical difficulties, the stakes are higher when it comes to sports. “We’re filming it now and we’ll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible” wouldn’t be a reasonable response to a similar failure for a broadcast of a sporting event that’s covered live by other mediums and will go on regardless of whether the broadcast works.
It’s especially concerning given the increasing popularity of sports gambling and in-game betting. If YouTube TV is facing concerns about a 52-second delay from their potential subscribers, a failure of this capacity from Netflix would be unacceptable to sports viewers.
[Netflix]
