Saturday’s much hyped fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC champion Conor McGregor drew fans from all walks of life, even those who’d never typically watch a standard boxing match. But when some of those fans settled in to watch the spectacle, beverage and snacks in hand, they found themselves in a world of hurt.
Watching the fight wasn’t cheap (nearly $100 on pay-per-view), so naturally, those who had technical issues as fight time neared — on whatever platform — were fighting mad. The fight was delayed by about 10 minutes as broadcaster Showtime worked to fix the transmission. (Disclosure: Showtime is a subsidiary of CNET parent company CBS.)
“Due to high demand, we have reports of scattered outages from various cable and satellite provides and the online offering,” Showtime Sports said in a statement. “We will delay the start of the main event slightly to allow for systems to get on track. We do not expect a lengthy delay.”
Problems started early, and not just for one streaming platform. At 6:28 p.m. PT, as the undercard matches preceding the event aired, the UFC admitted on Twitter it was having technical issues with its Fight Pass streaming service due to the overwhelming interest in the bout. It promised a quick resolution.
.@UFCFightPass customers: Due to overwhelming traffic you may be experiencing log in issues. This will be resolved shortly.
— UFC (@ufc) August 27, 2017
Fans were not soothed.
How short? 40 minutes into it and I’ve seen a black screen.
— Lui Calibre (@LuiCalibre) August 27, 2017
Of course, many fight fans had planned parties, with large groups of friends hoping to watch the fight, making things worse. (UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
We have 30 people over for a party too!!!
— Rosanna Tomiuk (@rosannatomiuk) August 27, 2017
Some fans thought they could turn to Showtime’s pay-per-view stream.
Clown show. Going showtime and getting refund.
— Michael Post (@mikpost) August 27, 2017
uh, too bad – I ordered it from Showtime because they had the foresight to increase server capacity. You will refund me on Monday.
— JRob (@BeFreeWherever) August 27, 2017
That didn’t work for everyone either.
We are aware of issues that may be affecting your ability to watch SHOWTIME & SHOWTIME Anytime streaming services. Check back for updates.
— SHOWTIME SUPPORT (@sho_help) August 27, 2017
Is anyone’s @Showtime stream working? We just dropped $100 and the stream is down. lol.
— TRad (@TRadRaddatz) August 27, 2017
@sho_help just purchased fight online on computer per Showtime online stream. It is not working. If I can’t see this fight I need a refund
— Michael Shannon (@McMikeShan) August 27, 2017
But at least some fans had a sense of humor about it.
First published Aug. 27, 7:52 p.m. PT
Update, 10:03 p.m. PT: Adds comment from Showtime.
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