The NBA’s new app is being dunked on by hundreds of social media users who say it’s been nearly impossible to watch games on the NBA League Pass package since the 2022-23 season started last week.
The league launched a new app this season which is designed to reduce delays in League Pass game streams as well as provide a more personalized experience for users. But many League Pass subscribers say they have trouble accessing the app to watch a game. And when they are able to log in, the app is glitchy with frequent buffering and picture freezing. It appears the technical snafus are affecting all devices, although it’s unclear if they are affecting all users.
The complaints started on the League Pass’ first night of the season (October 19) and haven’t stopped since. The NBA League Pass’ Twitter support team, @NBALPSupport, is forced to issue apology after apology every night.
“I’m a lifelong defender of NBA League Pass, but the new update this season has been a disaster. Phone stream seems solid but every other device is completely unwatchable. An absolute mess @NBALPSupport,” tweeted @kevin_tucker on October 19.
“Words cannot express how bad the NBA app is,” tweeted @BiasedHouston early this morning.
“Whoever “updated” the NBA league pass app on ps5 should be fired immediately,” wrote ‘Tommy Zammit’ last week.
“Hey @NBALPSupport , how exactly do you want me to watch basketball with my league pass? I own a LG TV: not supported. Started the app on my PlayStation4: not supported. Bought an FireTV Stick: can’t download the app. Stream via Airplay from my phone, crashes every 10 minutes,” tweeted Lennart Remy.
Crazy that @NBATV would allow this to even be a thing for a second @NBALPSupport isn’t even acknowledging it. I’m glad I haven’t paid for my subscription. Terrible. pic.twitter.com/8MiwYXNgZf
— Dubby. Not Kyle (@pivonkadonk1) October 22, 2022
Hi! @NBALPSupport . I cant see Games in my tablet (Android 11). I have enable location but when I click on watch Game… pic.twitter.com/oFa54byiG3
— La Mamba Negra (@ronie1111) October 22, 2022
First second of attempting to watch NBA and it’s unwatchable. Current download speed is 53mbps yet glitches every 3 seconds. Fix your shit, @NBALPSupport pic.twitter.com/WAs6HjPZfy
— Matt Muir (@adonismuir) October 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/gavmufc/status/1583896265120546816?s=20&t=uMGOS1FQJ_gPEW2ARcCo_g
The NBA’s Twitter support team usually responds with an apology and a request that the complainer send a direct message so the issue can be handled privately.
“We are sorry to hear about your issue. We have received your DM and will respond to you shortly. We appreciate your patience while we look into this for you. Thanks,” the NBA’s team told one upset customer.
The support team has not offered an explanation for the issues nor a timetable for when they will be fixed.
That is not appeasing fans who sometimes note that they have to pay a minimum of $99 to watch an entire season of the League Pass.
@NBALPSupport pretty nice when you have to pay for a service that don’t even work pic.twitter.com/mvvnyB5EDk
— Gabriel Batista (@Moralezao1) October 22, 2022
The TV Answer Man has asked the NBA communications department for a comment and will report back here if we receive one.
Live streaming’s technical problems have been a recurring issue for sports and other high-profile events, most recently for the NFL Sunday Ticket and the NFL Plus app.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
this why i hate streaming and prefer sattelite or cable tv!
You forgot to mention that the new app no longer allows downloading of games for offline viewing. It’s objectively much much worse than the previous versions.