An embarrassing glitch delayed Netflix’s highly anticipated “Love Is Blind” live reunion show Sunday night, leaving many fans frustrated.
Viewers trying to stream the episode, which was set to start at 8 p.m. Eastern, instead received an error message. Netflix’s Twitter account said the delay would only be 15 minutes, but the error message was still showing more than an hour later.
The popular reality dating series was set to air its Season 4 reunion show live for the first time. Netflix has experimented with live presentations on rare occasions, including a Chris Rock standup comedy special in March.
Netflix NFLX, -2.18% had heavily promoted the reunion episode, which was to cap a buzzy and drama-filled season. Among other things, the reunion show, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, will reveal which couples are still together.
Live streaming has been a bit of a white whale for streaming services, whose networks were not built for live events. But live capabilities are being seen as necessary in today’s media landscape, from live sports (such as Amazon’s AMZN, +0.11% Prime Video and Apple TV+ AAPL, -0.21% ) to comedy specials and concerts, to, potentially, live fan voting for competition shows.
The delay may be costly for Netflix, as the reunion show will now likely compete head-to-head with a new episode of HBO’s “Succession.”
Fans, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had fun with the delay on Twitter: