Updated April 17, 2023 6:21 am EDT
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Netflix had to cancel the broadcast of a live special of its reality show love is blind After a long delay and multiple technical issues, the streaming giant’s second major live broadcast was overshadowed on Sunday, prompting an angry reaction from viewers on social media.
Important facts
The Love is blind: the live reunion It was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET, but users who logged in to watch the broadcast were greeted with an error message that read, “Sorry for the interruption. We’re having trouble playing Netflix. Please check your internet connection and try again.”
Netflix responded to initial reports of the bug with a now-deleted tweet saying the broadcast was delayed by 15 minutes. Almost 90 minutes after the scheduled start of the broadcast, Netflix got in touch cancelled the live broadcast and apologized to viewers who “stayed up late, got up early and gave up their Sunday afternoon”.
The streamer added that the reunion special is currently being filmed and will be available on Netflix for on-demand viewing “as soon as possible”.
At the time of publication, the special episode was not yet available on demand.
The Love is Blind reunion special was Netflix’s second live broadcast, following last month’s Chris Rock comedy special Selective outrage– which was broadcast without major interference.
Crucial quote
Several users took to Twitter to blame Netflix for stumbling on the second live broadcast attempt. Also the video rental Blockbuster – once a big competitor to Netflix took a shot wrote to the streamer on Twitter, “Remember to rent VHS from us. You could easily start on time with this… That’s what we get.”
Important background
As Netflix and other streamers saw user growth slow, many saw live broadcasts — including live sports streaming — as the next big growth path. Despite being the world’s largest streaming service, Netflix is a relative newcomer to live streaming compared to its competitors Apple, Amazon And Disney– all three have broadcast live sport. Netflix’s first foray into live streaming came last month with the Chris Rock Comedy special, which went off without major hitches. Immediately after the broadcast, viewers were able to access a later archived version on-demand slightly changed excuse mistakes. Netflix has secured the rights to the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards and ceremony streamed live on Netflix’s various social media channels, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The commercial-free show was praised for allowing the award winners to deliver their full speeches rather than being eclipsed by music. The 2024 ceremony will be streamed live on Netflix.
further reading
Netflix resumes taping “Love Is Blind” reunion after technical issues with Crater live broadcast schedules (Diversity)