Streaming services like Netflix have changed how we watch films and television. Subverting the standardised premium television model entirely, these platforms let anyone with an internet connection pay a comparatively cheap monthly subscription to get access to massive libraries of shows and films that can be watched on demand and, for the most part, without advertisements – and certainly without multi-minute advert breaks.
Not content with dominating this circle of viewership, online streaming platforms have increasingly looked to integrate live events as a part of the streaming offering. Unfortunately, the incredibly convenient sources of entertainment have regularly hit the headlines for these live streams struggling, with the 97th Academy Awards on Hulu being the latest example of these high-profile struggles. So, what’s happening, and can the issue be fixed?
A Stream of Live Streaming Problems
Even before the advent of online streaming, traditional television broadcasts have been prone to technical difficulties in the past, with bad weather and large viewing audiences able to cause issues. Unfortunately, for live streaming platforms, people often quickly put out posts to declare an issue, and news sites will tap into this.
As noted, the most recent instance of this was Disney’s Hulu platform, which struggled under the weight of the Academy Awards’ audience. In the final moments of the show, with the two most hotly-anticipated awards left to go, the livestream cut. Issues were also reported through the opening acts, with technical issues occurring through Ariana Grande’s performance.
However, it’s not just a Hulu issue, with Netflix famously struggling with live events like reality TV and live sports. During the highly anticipated Tyson vs Paul match, the show froze, lost sound, and couldn’t reload for a whole host of the millions watching. After getting WWE’s Monday Night Raw at the start of the year, blackouts took hold by the February 3 show.
Adjustments Needed Going Forward
Bringing in wildly popular live events to show live naturally comes with many challenges. Pivoting from on-demand streaming to the sometimes erratic demands of a live show is clearly quite the task.
However, other entertainment platforms that have made similar pivots and have been able to do so without such issues. This can be seen in the iGaming industry, which has sought to utilise live streaming to expand their online offerings, seeking to replicate the in-person experience at home. For example, alongside their traditional online bingo games, this bingo website offers live bingo options, with real live presenters, as well as on-demand slots and timed bingo rooms.
While live online bingo doesn’t get as many live viewers as, say, Monday Night Raw in the US, the successful expansion of the iGaming industry into live streaming shows how demand for live content continues to dominate the entertainment sector, suggesting the desire for high-quality live content is equally high.
Netflix, Hulu, and most of the others that still remain as major players in the online streaming market are already huge operations with millions of subscribers. So, it makes sense that being able to scale up in the very different realm of live events has been tough. If they’re still using servers designed for on-demand streaming, clearly, there’s a need to build dedicated server spaces to handle the flow of traffic for popular live events.
The streaming services look to be committed to the pursuit of live events, and while issues continue to make headlines, improvements have certainly been made since the Live Is Blind incident in 2023. With so much money available, it’s inevitable that, eventually, these problems will be ironed out.
