UK Apple TV viewers blocked from seeing key football match

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
Technical issues with the ITV Hub app on Apple TV made viewers in the UK miss out on seeing the high profile England v Denmark Euro 2020 football game.

ITV Hub app on Apple TV
ITV Hub app on Apple TV


ITV is a national broadcaster in the UK -- as Apple found out -- and its services are available on an Apple TV app called ITV Hub. Right from its very earliest test forms on any platform, ITV Hub was noted for perfectly playing back adverts and then failing on the programmes, and that has now reoccurred.

So, the adverts play OK, but then #itvhub decides that it doesn't want to go. Then try again and same result... Good job there's nothing important on tonight, like say a sporting event.. pic.twitter.com/RNZilb3Urc

— Steve Steer (@Somst_Fruitcake)


As spotted by iMore, the Euro 2020 semi-final match between England and Denmark was marred by recurring technical issues. Specifically during the second half of the game, and the deciding penalty time at the end, viewers would be randomly presented with an error message.

Euro 2020, delayed because of the coronavirus, is the latest in the four-yearly pan-European football tournament. The semi-final saw England get through to the last match, which is to be against Italy and held on Sunday, July 11.

The UK's main networks, BBC and ITV, typically alternate which gets to show matches up to the final. Then both BBC1 and ITV simultaneously air the final, which means that UK Apple TV viewers will be able to watch the last game via the BBC iPlayer app.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    cogitodextercogitodexter Posts: 196member
    This would most likely only affect people who have 'cut the cord' and no longer receive broadcast signals via aerials, satellite or cable and thus think they don't need to pay the mandatory UK TV Licence fee. Since watching any form of live-broadcast TV, however it's delivered, including online, requires a TV licence, most of the people inconvenienced by this will likely not have much of a leg to stand on to complain.
    chris-netwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 19
    notwichrednotwichred Posts: 68member
    No.

    ITV is not funded by the TV Licence.  That’s the BBC.  No need to have a TV licence to watch ITV.

    and in the original article….Penalty time?  Really? 
    right_said_fredwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    cogitodexter said:
    This would most likely only affect people who have 'cut the cord' and no longer receive broadcast signals via aerials, satellite or cable and thus think they don't need to pay the mandatory UK TV Licence fee. Since watching any form of live-broadcast TV, however it's delivered, including online, requires a TV licence, most of the people inconvenienced by this will likely not have much of a leg to stand on to complain.
    Do you even know what you’re talking about? 
    chris-netwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 19
    beadlienbeadlien Posts: 17member
    We got the annoying, “Are you still watching?” message in the Optus Sport App just before the deciding goal, with only 20 seconds to find the remote to prevent the program stopping. You’d think on sporting events it would wait until they are over at least. We came within seconds of losing the stream at the critical moment. 😅
    equality72521watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 19
    beadlienbeadlien Posts: 17member
    We got the annoying, “Are you still watching?” message in the Optus Sport App just before the deciding goal, with only 20 seconds to find the remote to prevent the program stopping. You’d think on sporting events it would wait until they are over at least. We came within seconds of losing the stream at the critical moment!
  • Reply 6 of 19
    sflagelsflagel Posts: 805member
    cogitodexter said:
    This would most likely only affect people who have 'cut the cord' and no longer receive broadcast signals via aerials, satellite or cable and thus think they don't need to pay the mandatory UK TV Licence fee. Since watching any form of live-broadcast TV, however it's delivered, including online, requires a TV licence, most of the people inconvenienced by this will likely not have much of a leg to stand on to complain.
    Why would people that have a terrestrial signal pay the license and people that receive it over the App not pay it? The two are totally unrelated. If anything, you are more likely to pay the license if you use the App, since you have to register for it, and use your mobile to do so.
    Luckily, I remembered that my "Smart" TV also had and ITV Player, and luckily that one worked.
    But then luck ran out and England won.
    tenthousandthingslukeiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 19
    sflagelsflagel Posts: 805member
    Who wrote this article? "Euro 2020 ... is the latest in the four-yearly pan-European football tournament." What?
    Also, there are maybe 4 people in the world that do not know what the Euro Cup is).
    The ITV App outage was a DISGRACE.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 19
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    notwichred said:
    No.

    ITV is not funded by the TV Licence.  That’s the BBC.  No need to have a TV licence to watch ITV.

    and in the original article….Penalty time?  Really? 
    You absolutely do need a TV license to watch live broadcasting through the app of any terrestrial channel in the UK. 
    equality72521
  • Reply 9 of 19
    ihatescreennamesihatescreennames Posts: 1,904member
    Ha ha! That Steve Steer is funny. He thinks sporting events are important. 
    lordjohnwhorfinwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 19
    equality72521equality72521 Posts: 184member
    ihatescreennames said:
    Ha ha! That Steve Steer is funny. He thinks sporting events are important. 
    They are. 
    winstoner71
  • Reply 11 of 19
    lukeilukei Posts: 379member
    Japhey said:
    cogitodexter said:
    This would most likely only affect people who have 'cut the cord' and no longer receive broadcast signals via aerials, satellite or cable and thus think they don't need to pay the mandatory UK TV Licence fee. Since watching any form of live-broadcast TV, however it's delivered, including online, requires a TV licence, most of the people inconvenienced by this will likely not have much of a leg to stand on to complain.
    Do you even know what you’re talking about? 
    Yes he/she does…
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 19
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    So is this Apple’s fault?
  • Reply 13 of 19
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    lkrupp said:
    So is this Apple’s fault?
    Obviously not.
  • Reply 14 of 19
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member
    England & Wales, you mean. ITV is not the national broadcaster for the UK, and in NI and Scotland we don’t use its app. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 19
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member
    notwichred said:
    No.

    ITV is not funded by the TV Licence.  That’s the BBC.  No need to have a TV licence to watch ITV.

    and in the original article….Penalty time?  Really? 
    I’m afraid you’re wrong. Go to the tv licensing website, it explains it all. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 19
    chris-netchris-net Posts: 24member
    BBC iPlayer in 4K

    The BBC will show the final in 4K via iPlayer

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 19
    chris-netchris-net Posts: 24member
    No.

    ITV is not funded by the TV Licence.  That’s the BBC.  No need to have a TV licence to watch ITV.

    and in the original article….Penalty time?  Really? 

    The law says you need to be covered by a TV Licence to:

    • watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel
    • watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV, Sky Go, etc.)
    • download or watch any BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer.
     
    https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 19
    TomC_2004TomC_2004 Posts: 2member
    Should be 2021*
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 19
    selleringtonsellerington Posts: 93member
    ITV Hub is absolute garbage. Watching programmes on ITV Hub is painful as it frequently gets stuck on the adverts meaning that you often need to replay the adverts numerous times in order to watch the programme. They also offer ITV Hub+ which is a Premium subscription service which I haven't tried and I can't see why anyone would pay for it. BBC iPlayer offers a much better service with significantly better picture quality. Quite frankly the ITV Hub offering is an embarrassment.
    watto_cobra
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