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YouTube TV sparks NFL fears with NBA disaster

By Zac Wassink | Last updated May 18, 2023 12:41 PM ET

Football fans planning on using YouTube TV to enjoy the "NFL Sunday Ticket" out-of-market package this coming season may have reasons for concern following Wednesday's debacle.

As shared by Jeremy Layton of the New York Post and Andy Nesbitt of Sports Illustrated, among others, some YouTube TV customers were left fuming after they missed the final minutes of Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics due to technical issues.

Some fans received an error message while attempting to stream the game, while others encountered ads for "The Little Mermaid" rather than the closing moments of Miami's 123-116 victory in Boston.

YouTube TV addressed the problem via Twitter and said long after the game concluded that the problems had been fixed:

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

update! YTV is back to normal so you should be able to enjoy your fav content without any issues now - thank you so much for understanding & find more details from here: https://t.co/I9nPbxORm4 https://t.co/tSBlq6B8ix
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) May 18, 2023

Understandably, the latter update did little to soothe individuals who weren't able to use the service properly on Wednesday night and/or who plan to utilize YouTube TV for NFL-related purposes beginning in September:

YouTube TV has doubled its price from $35/month to $73/month, removed RSNs and other channels like MLB Network, and now crashes with 5 minutes left in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

If this happens with Sunday Ticket, people will riot.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 18, 2023

Last year, NFL fans around the country flocked to Twitter over multiple weeks to confirm they experienced difficulties streaming games via the DirecTV "NFL Sunday Ticket" package. DirecTV ultimately apologized and reimbursed customers.

Just last month, a YouTube TV spokesperson danced around questions about streamed NFL broadcasts possibly being up to one minute behind the broadcasts of games on over-the-air networks.

According to Google Support, "NFL Sunday Ticket" will cost a minimum of $249 (depending on the package) and potentially up to $389 for the 2023 season, and that's only for people who take advantage of deals that run until June 6. Fair or not, fans spending that kind of money to watch games at home are going to expect a flawless product beginning in Week 1 on Sept. 10.

"The good news for NFL fans is that last night’s situation gives the NFL good cause to insist that YouTube TV confirm, re-confirm, and re-confirm again that things will work smoothly when the time comes to stream the full package of out-of-market games," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote for a piece published Thursday.

While Florio is correct, Wednesday's setback may cause some to avoid pre-paying for "NFL Sunday Ticket" and to postpone any purchase decision until they hear and read more about the service this fall.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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