Verizon's weekend FiOS outage irks viewers

Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS TV service had some problems over the weekend that reportedly saw viewers in parts of Pennsylvania and New York lose service, irking fans of college basketball and fans waiting for the return of Mad Men Sunday night.

Mad Men

FiOS subscribers in Pa. and N.Y. lost access to the Mad Men premiere.

The outage, which began on Friday night, caused customers to lose channels above 49, although reports said customers were able to get some of their local channels. The outage disrupted viewing plans for customers who were planning to watch March Madness as well as AMC's season opening episode of the popular TV drama, Mad Men, which has been on hiatus for a year-and-a-half and returned to much fanfare.

A Verizon spokeswoman blamed the problem in upstate New York and in the Harrisburg, Pa., area on a software issue at its hub in Buffalo and said that the problem was resolved by midnight Friday. She said a set top box reset is needed to restore service, which can take some time, adding that Verizon was resetting them remotely. Customers also could reset their STBs via the menu on the on-screen guide.

But on Monday night, Verizon's technical assistance boards for upstate New York were still lit up  with unhappy customers. A Harrisburg TV station reported the outage also touched parts of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virgina, but there were no other reports of an outage that broad.

For more:
- see this ABC27 article
- see this Albany Times-Union article
- see this PennLive.com article

Related articles:
U-verse expected to pass FiOS subscriber numbers in 2013
IPTV growth strong, more likely as U.S. subscriber additions continue apace
Verizon ups ante to woo Hispanic audience with new movie channel deal
Verizon, Redbox JV launching in August