LeBron James is one of the best athletes in human history and one of the richest athletes, one of only four athletes named a billionaire by Forbes.
But even at the top of the mountain, James still has to watch sports on the same platform as everyone else. So I also encountered the same problem.
James seemed to be having a hard time watching NFL football games on YouTube TV on Monday night, and he took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his displeasure.
“Why is YouTube TV buffering so big!!???!!!?” James wrote. “It’s very frustrating.”
Why is YouTube TV buffering so huge! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 🤦🏾‍♂️.very frustrating
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 7, 2023
RELATED: YouTube makes desperate move on NFL Sunday Ticket
It’s unclear what James was looking at, but he sent the tweet at 10:59 ET during the second half of the Monday Night Football game between the Los Angeles Chargers and New York Jets on ESPN and ABC .
James was actually coming off a game in which James scored 30 points in 37 minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers lost by one point to the Miami Heat in South Beach.
King has openly expressed his love for the NFL and the Cleveland Browns. He’s taken his game to another level this season as he’s been going live on Instagram to share his winning picks for each week’s game.
View original article to view embedded media.
RELATED: YouTube’s big bet on NFL loses big in first year
In May, YouTube TV faced a social media storm over buffering during a key NBA playoff game. YouTube TV said subscribers’ live streams were cut off during the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
The game ended up being a foreshadowing of some of the user experience issues YouTube TV has faced in the NFL this season.
On October 29, the Sunday of NFL Week 8, YouTube TV subscribers reported that buffering caused many to miss part of the 1 PM ET game. That even included Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Daquan Jones, whose team had played in that week’s game but was home with an injury.
You pay all this money for streaming services… only for them to not work when you really need them đź«
—Daqua Jones (@RiDQulous_98) October 29, 2023
RELATED: Experts weigh in on the NBA’s next media deal and whether ESPN can fend off Amazon and Apple
YouTube TV acquired the rights to “NFL Sunday Ticket” from DirecTV this season, a service that allows fans to watch every NFL game. The seven-year agreement costs about $2 billion per year.
The service has reportedly generated about 1.3 million subscribers, surpassing the 1.2 million subscribers it had before DirecTV acquired YouTube TV. However, a Morgan Stanley report released in late October said the service could cost YouTube more than $1 billion a year.
According to reports, YouTube will need about 3 million subscribers to break even on the acquisition.
However, profit is not necessarily the goal of YouTube and its acquisition of “NFL Sunday Ticket.” Columbia University sports management professor Joe Favorito told TheStreet last week that YouTube’s long-term goal may be to build customers by using the NFL as a “marketing tool.”
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