YouTube TV users had some serious issues trying to watch Monday’s matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. Instead, they were forced to watch a continuous loop of ads for the remake of the classic movie The Little Mermaid.
Many YouTube TV users took to social media to reveal that there were pretty constant issues throughout the game, including the most important moments of the game.
Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team posted that YouTube TV stopped working nationwide during the final minutes of the game. It was a relatively close game throughout and the Heat took control in these key moments of the game to take a 123-116 victory.
YouTube TV stopped working country-wide during the final minutes of Heat/Celtics tonight.
With the NFL moving Sunday Ticket exclusively to YouTube TV, they're banking this won't happen come September. pic.twitter.com/uXuGyIEC7w
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 18, 2023
Others complained about receiving the continuous loop of ads for The Little Mermaid, which many were certainly not pleased about.
YouTube tv making me watch this Little Mermaid commercial 100x instead of the Heat-Celtics pic.twitter.com/AFwskmyDFc
— Beanie Seagull (@DaBlackHoward) May 18, 2023
Celtics crunch time and YouTube tv has made me watch the little mermaid trailer 18 times in a row
— Mike Wanders (@Mike_Wanders) May 18, 2023
Every nba fan going to YouTube headquarters after getting the little mermaid ad on YouTube tv for 20 minutes pic.twitter.com/n3NxBtLaje
— John (@iam_johnw) May 18, 2023
YouTube acknowledged the problems with the broadcast, releasing a tweet about viewers having an issue watching the game.
“If you have an issue watching the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game on TNT, we’re aware of it & our team is working on a fix – thx so much for your patience!”
if you have an issue watching the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game on TNT, we’re aware of it & our team is working on a fix – thx so much for your patience!
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) May 18, 2023
They were unfortunately not able to fix the issue for the final moments of Game 1 of the series. No further update was issued by YouTube’s social media team.
This is obviously a complete disaster for YouTube, which is set to be the sole home of NFL Sunday Ticket next NFL season. The company recently vowed that it would provide a “high-quality Sunday Ticket experience.”
If their coverage of the Celtics-Heat matchup is any indication of things to come, they certainly have some kinks to work out before football season.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.