Amazon Prime Video's stream of the Miami Heat-Charlotte Hornets NBA game cut out for nearly two minutes during overtime, showing a 'technical difficulties' message. Fans missed key action, including a score by LaMelo Ball, prompting outrage from viewers like LeBron James. The Hornets won by one point.
NBA fans watching the Miami Heat face the Charlotte Hornets were left frustrated when Prime Video, the exclusive streaming service for the game, experienced a major outage in overtime. The feed cut off mid-commentary, displaying a 'technical difficulties' message for almost two minutes. Viewers missed a Hornets possession that saw LaMelo Ball score, with 22.1 seconds of game time elapsing before the stream returned, as reported by ESPN. Prime Video held sole broadcast rights, leaving fans with no alternative video options beyond attending in person or tuning into select radio stations. LeBron James, a former Heat champion now with the Los Angeles Lakers, reacted on X: 'Tell me the game didn’t just cut off?!!? Am I trippin?? WTH,' adding a face-planting emoji. An Amazon spokesperson attributed the issue to 'a hardware failure in our production truck,' telling ESPN: 'Our teams restored the feed as quickly as possible to ensure fans could watch the conclusion of the game. We are conducting a thorough internal review to determine the cause of the outage.' The incident echoes past Prime Video struggles, including freezing and audio-sync issues during its 2022 Thursday Night Football debut. Podcaster Bill Simmons noted ongoing problems this season: 'The entire year the audio has been a split second ahead of the video on half of the Amazon games we’ve watched... How have we not figured this out yet? You guys, [Amazon], have 8 kajillion dollars.' Reddit users voiced similar concerns, with one post garnering 314 upvotes questioning reliability during high-stakes moments. The Charlotte Hornets ultimately prevailed by one point.
