Netflix’s Live Broadcast Disaster

April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 Binge Access

Netflix made an attempt to hold a live reunion finale for their successful reality show, Love is Blind, on Sunday April 16, 2023. This marks the first time the streaming service has attempted to broadcast live television since featuring Chris Rock’s comedy special, Selective Outrage. Unfortunately, this reunion served as a significant test for Netflix’s live streaming capabilities, and the result was a miserable failure.

The recent live broadcast of Love is Blind on Netflix marks the company’s second effort in the realm of live television. Unfortunately, the outcome of this attempt not only let down fans of the show, but it also highlighted the limitations of streaming as a medium.

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Love is blind’s streaming error

Viewers of Love is Blind eagerly anticipated the finale’s broadcast on Netflix, but instead were met with an error screen and ambiguous updates about when they could view the reunion. While some viewers were able to watch the special over an hour later, the majority were still unable to access it through their accounts. Netflix eventually tweeted that they would record the reunion and release it as soon as possible. However, many viewers had already lost interest in watching it for the night by that point.

To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned. We're filming it now and we'll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and…
— Netflix (@netflix) April 17, 2023

Netflix invested a considerable amount of time and money promoting the binge-watching model for television. However, as people rediscover appointment TV, the company has been facing challenges in maintaining its relevance. Several shows, such as House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession, and even WandaVision a couple of years ago, indicate that viewers still enjoy the anticipation of weekly releases and the ensuing conversation they generate. Despite this trend, Netflix remains one of the few streaming services that releases all episodes of its original programming at once, with only a handful of reality shows like The Great British Bake Off and Love is Blind following a weekly release schedule.

Netflix struggling to keep the pace up

Considering that Netflix was the first streaming service to experiment with live TV streaming, experiencing technical difficulties on its second attempt might be understandable. However, given that live TV has been around for decades and other streaming services have managed to provide live TV programming without such issues, it raises concerns about Netflix’s ability to keep up with the competition. While Netflix popularized streaming and ushered in a new era of television, failing to adapt to the changes occurring in other streaming services could render it obsolete, much like Blockbuster.

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Subscriber drop of Netflix

Netflix’s recent missteps, including the botched Love is Blind reunion, the cancellation of most of its original series after one or two seasons, price hikes, and cracking down on password sharing, are testing the patience of its loyal customer base. Perhaps, if Netflix had followed HBO Max’s example and prerecorded the reunion and released it online at a set time, similar to how HBO handles its programming, they could have avoided the technical issues and maintained the excitement of the appointment event. It is worth noting that it is unusual to suggest following HBO Max‘s lead, but in this case, it may have been a wise decision.