FuboTV Struggles to Stream ‘El Clasico’

FuboTV’s coverage of Saturday’s La Liga matchup between FC Barcelona and  Real Madrid (via BeIN Sports), a game between rival clubs commonly called “El Clasico,” appeared to run into sign-on trouble and other streaming-related  issues as subscribers took to Twitter to let off steam.

Some examples:

@fuboTV@beINSPORTS#ElClasico Your feed is terrible. Low res, if working at all. #fail

— Kevin Swan (@TheiSwan) April 2, 2016

Yep @fubotv app been horrible! Missed the goals because keeps going in and out. https://t.co/CNiE64iBi5

— Stephen Rodriguez (@SRod_PR) April 2, 2016

@fuboTV The most important match ever, and the streaming is horrible. :(

— SuperSteff (@SuperSteff) April 2, 2016

Many of FuboTV’s responses on Twitter looked like this:

@d_kings83 We're extremely sorry for the streaming issues today! The team is working on a fix as we speak. You'll get an email from us.

— fuboTV (@fuboTV) April 2, 2016

Hey guys,

Tech are closing in on resolving the login issue some of you are facing, we'll update you.

Thanks & sorry for the trouble!

— fuboTV (@fuboTV) April 2, 2016

FuboTV later tweeted that subscribers on PCs should try to use the Chrome browser or Chrome Incognito to login, which seemed to work for  some subscribers.

Multichannel News has asked an official with FuboTV for more detail about the technical issues that arose during the game.

Update: fuboTV issued this statement: "Due to high demand we had an unexpected technical issue yesterday that led to an interruption in service for some of our users. The issue lasted approximately 1.5 hours, which unfortunately coincided with a popular El Clasico match, and it was resolved as soon as possible. We are giving a credit to all subscribers who were impacted, and making significant investments into our infrastructure, taking all necessary steps so that this never happens again. It is the company's highest priority to ensure that our service is reliable and to provide a positive experience for our customers."

FuboTV subscribers will receive a $15 credit that will be applied in $5 monthly increments through July.

Though the timing of a streaming issues is never good for subscribers, this one happened to come during a matchup with significant global appeal. (Real Madrid won the match, 2-1, with a late goal from superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.)

fuboTV, which bills itself as a“sports-first” virtual MVPD, recently raised a $15 million Series B round led by Sky and 21st Century Fox.

fuboTV, which has a subscriber base of  40,000-plus, has raised $20.58 million so far, according to CrunchBase.

 The millennials-focused service starts at $9.99 per month and offers live sporting events via distribution deals with partners such as beIN SPORTS, GolTV, Univision Deportes and Benfica TV. It also has  distribution deals with Univision Communications, Pivot and Revolt Media & TV that recently added 15 networks to its lineup.