As fans awaited a dramatic "Love is Blind" reunion special on Netflix, they were met with TV’s equivalent of the grim reaper: buffering.
Sunday night, the streaming platform invited viewers to be a part of its second live event, the conclusion of Season 4 of the reality dating show. But, citing “technical difficulties,” it ended up taking an hour to get things up and running. The delay pushed what should have been an 8 p.m. Eastern debut well past 9 p.m., opening the floor for a competing streaming platform to poach viewers.
Following a bombshell episode of HBO’s "Succession" last week that left off with the series’ anchor character, Logan Ray, abruptly dying, fans looked forward to the aftermath episode, which would air at 9 p.m.
On social media, fans put Netflix on notice, explaining that they had a limited amount of time to get on air.
The live feed, featuring "Love is Blind" co-hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey, finally began at around 9:15 p.m. “We are sorry we’re late,” Vanessa Lachey said at the start of the broadcast. Viewers reported continued issues accessing the feed. Netflix said in a tweet it would upload the full reunion episode “as soon as humanly possible.” In a followup tweet, the streaming network said the special will be available to stream starting Monday at 3 p.m.
The cause of Netflix’s delay is unclear. On social media, the streaming platform has acknowledged and apologized for the issues, but offered no explanation.
“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,” the brand tweeted.
Besides annoyed fans forced to choose their allegiance between "Love is Blind" and "Succession," the livestream’s delays also opened the floodgates for other streaming networks and brand accounts to get their jabs in online.
“Remember renting vhs’ from us,” Blockbuster tweeted. “You could start it on time no problem... This is what we get.”
It’s worth noting that Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for a cool $50 million in 2000. But the CEO admitted he didn’t think the concept was going anywhere. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010 and closed its last corporate location in 2014. One lone franchise location remains in Bend, Oregon. A documentary about the Oregon location is available to stream on, you guessed it, Netflix.
Others including Hulu and Bravo joined the pile-on.
“We would never keep you waiting for a Reunion,” Bravo — famed for its reality TV and reunion specials — tweeted with a winky emoji.
At one point, fans even spread an unfounded rumor that Netflix’s delay was intentional, as a way to pull HBO "Succession" fans away.
HBO has not made public comments about Sunday’s events.
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