Super Bowl 2024 Marred By Streaming Glitches, Outages

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.

It turned out to be a great night for the Kansas City Chiefs. But not so much for streaming.

Last night’s Super Bowl, won by the Chiefs in overtime, 25-22, was marred by numerous streaming glitches on multiple providers. While there were few reports of issues on traditional cable and satellite services, many fans who watched the game on a live streaming service, or Paramount Plus, complained on social media of picture freezing and buffering.

See more news and TV tech features at TVAnswerMan.com.

DIRECTV Stream wins the prize for worst Super Bowl streamer with its 4K channel experiencing multiple outages during the pre-game show and the game itself.

Hello there. We’re sorry if you’re having issues watching your favorite show. Currently, we are experiencing an outage with the 4k channel. DIRECTV appreciates your patience. ^KharlS

— DIRECTV Help (@DIRECTVhelp) February 12, 2024

The TV Answer Man was one of the many 4K enthusiasts who experienced these issues on DIRECTV Stream. At several points before and during the game, I had to switch to Paramount Plus to avoid missing the action although DIRECTV Stream was offering the game in 4K while PP was not.

Would rather watch an actual game in 1080p than a spinning wheel in 4K. #directvstream https://t.co/pX0mjxHt6X pic.twitter.com/F5Uc8GtUec

— The TV Answer Man – Making Television Easy Again! (@TVAnswerMan) February 11, 2024

But DIRECTV Stream subscribers were not the only ones having issues with the Super Bowl stream. Numerous fans of nearly every (if not every) streaming service were complaining at various times during the game.

For those watching on Paramount+, are you experiencing technical difficulties? #SuperBowlLVIII 🏈📺😵‍💫 https://t.co/sCYBUIt7qK

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 11, 2024

Just cancelled Paramount Plus. Super Bowl unwatchable/glitching/buffering on a gigabit connection. #paramountplussucks #ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/caM3NsePoF

— kwiseman (@kwiseman) February 12, 2024

Is @hulu constantly buffering for anyone else?#SuperBowl

— UCF Sports Info (@UCFSportsInfo) February 11, 2024

Count your days @YouTubeTV

The amount of buffering and pixelation!!!!

What is going on this is unwatchable #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/ovZ4rtWdH6

— CeCelia (@heymscecelia) February 12, 2024

My only complaint with the Super Bowl is that I had to watch it on Nickelodeon. I have Fubo, and CBS was buffering like crazy, so I switched to Nick. I could’ve switched to Univision, but I don’t know Spanish. Nick turned the Super Bowl into a bit of cartoon, but I’m happy.

— Chuck (@4ever_days) February 12, 2024

It should be noted that not everyone suffered streaming issues last night. In fact, many fans said they had no issues. (After finally ditching DIRECTV Stream, my Paramount Plus feed was perfect for the remainder of the game.) But the number of complaints were significant and widespread and reinforces again that live streaming is not a perfect delivery system, particularly during a high-profile event watched by a large audience. The increased number of users can trigger server issues which apparently happened last night.

Regardless of the reason, fans expect better.

Yo, YoutubeTV, I want a refund on 4k for the Super Bowl. Y’all can’t handle the bandwidth, just buffering. @YouTubeTV

— Josh Harris SZN (@matt_umd) February 11, 2024

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.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.