In yet another example of a streaming video platform experiencing technical issues during a high-volume viewing event, HBO Now and HBO Go both drew numerous viewer complaints during Sunday night's highly anticipated season premiere of Game of Thrones.
Viewers flocked to Twitter and Reddit to complain about a broad range of streaming difficulties for the OTT-based HBO Now and the TV Everywhere platform HBO Go. Some viewers complained about excessive buffering. Others were erroneously instructed they couldn't stream the show because they weren't in the U.S.
HBO downplayed the number of subscribers affected.
"There were a small number of HBO Now subscribers receiving an error message," a company statement said. "The problem was quickly recognized and resolved. Overall, both HBO Go and HBO Now remained stable under unprecedented traffic."
On Sunday, the company also released a tweet information viewers, "Our team is working to resolve the issue. If you're receiving a restart message, please follow @HBONowHelp and DM your username and device."
For Time Warner Inc.-owned HBO, it's the second straight year that it's experienced a streaming issue for a Game of Thrones premiere. The season 5 debut a year ago was watched by 10.5 million viewers, and generated tech issues for the just-launched HBO Now platform.
A year later, with HBO Now exceeding a million customers, the platform's tech is still receiving at least some complaints when it comes to a high-volume litmus test.
HBO, of course, isn't alone. Dish Network's (NASDAQ: DISH) Sling TV platform suffered numerous meltdowns in its first year, punctuated by a notorious glitch during the epic March Madness showdown between Wisconsin and Kentucky last spring.
Sling did, however, make it through this year's March Madness tournament without high-profile issues.
For more:
- read this DSL Reports story
- read this Reddit page
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