Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) continues to grapple with technical challenges as it tries to live-stream popular programming events through its Sling TV service.
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AMC's Fear the Walking Dead premiered last night. |
The latest glitch occurred Sunday evening, with users flocking to forums including Twitter and Reddit to complain about interrupted service during the premiere of AMC's anticipated new spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead.
As first reported by TV Predictions, numerous users complained about the picture freezing -- or the screen merely going black -- during the 9 p.m. EST airing of the AMC show. Ratings have not yet been released for the series, which tracks the beginnings of a worldwide zombie apocalypse from a Los Angeles setting. However, live airings of origin series The Walking Dead routinely draw more than 10 million viewers.
Sling used its @slinganswers Twitter account to apologize to users and advise them to reload their Sling TV apps. Sling individually issued apology tweets to more than 100 users.
Sling TV has grappled with customer complaints during high-volume viewing events dating back to early April, when its live stream of Turner's March Madness semi-final crashed. The $20-a-month streaming service touted a range of technical enhancements following that high-profile failure, but users experienced glitches again on August 11 during the season premiere of ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars.
The technical glitches reveal the challenges associated with streaming live television -- a task not made easier by what appears to be Sling's fast growth. Analysts say the 8-month-old service likely has around 200,000 subscribers.
For more:
- read this TV Predictions story
- read this Reddit forum
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