"A Note from Us"

After Streaming Outage: ORF Issues Statement

The ORF has apologized for the stream outage during the ÖFB match.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/GEPA pictures, instagram.com/orfsport)

The ORF has spoken out following the streaming outage during Austria’s World Cup opener against Jordan. In a statement on Instagram, the broadcaster apologized to the affected fans and also explained the cause of the problems.

A blackout for numerous soccer fans during the ÖFB team’s World Cup opener! While Austria battled Jordan for its first World Cup points, the live stream on ORF ON was intermittently unavailable for many users.

Now, ORF has commented on the issues. “On a personal note,” the broadcaster wrote alongside an image posted on Instagram.

It states: “At the start of the second half, the APA experienced an infrastructure outage. We worked around the clock to resolve the issue, but the enormous volume of requests made an ad-hoc fix correspondingly more difficult.”

The ORF further explained: “ORF ON and access to the livestreams were affected. Viewers who were already watching the stream were able to continue watching. We regret the incident and would like to apologize for it.”

FansF
 Were FuriousWhile Austria was on the field playing against Jordan in the World Cup, numerous fans watching on their screens were forced to take an unexpected break. Many users reported that the livestream wasn’t working or had gone down completely. In some cases, the match could only be watched on linear TV. There, more than one million Austrians tuned in to watch the World Cup match.

Interest in the streaming service was likely enormous. Many fans wanted to watch the match on their smartphones on their way to work or while on the go. The outage understandably caused a great deal of frustration on social media. 

With the statement it has now released, ORF has at least revealed the cause of the glitch and apologized to the affected viewers.