Programming on ESPN+ can vary from live sports like the NHL to even showing NFL-related broadcasts. When ESPN+ does show games, they run ads that filter throughout a broadcast.
But there’s apparently a little hitch in how live games are being shown. Namely, the time difference between a “live” game and when it might not be “live” has stirred up some controversy. It’s not clear what ESPN+, the streaming platform, might be trying to do here, but a couple of podcasters have been on the case.
What Is ESPN+ Doing On Their Live Broadcasts?
On the “What Chaos” podcast that focuses on the NHL, hosts DJ Bean and Pete Blackburn decided to do some detective work about this situation.
Bean believes there’s something fishy going on with the ads themselves and how long they are being shown on ESPN+. In fact, Bean and Blackburn are pretty doggone sure they are on to something big, really big.
“I believe ESPN+ is inserting ads that can be longer than the broadcast’s commercial breaks,” Bean said. “This eventually makes viewers’ feeds no longer live and they don’t know that unless they manually check.”
“So you texted this last night and my first reaction was DJ’s being dramatic,” Blackburn said. “He’s making his problem everybody else’s problem. And then last night, I checked to see where I was in my ESPN+ feed in relation to a live game. I was like three minutes, like game minutes where I should be on the live feed.
“This s**t’s f**king happening,” Blackburn said. “It is absolutely happening.”
Bean then asks someone to play a video that he took while watching an ESPN+ broadcast. When comparing the duration of an ad to the live feed of an NHL game, a distinct difference is evident.
Whether ESPN+ will address this situation or not remains to be seen. But the fact that Bean and Blackburn are pointing fingers at the matter should raise some eyebrows. Although they focus on the NHL here, this type of issue can also affect the NFL and other live broadcasts.
Both hosts are pretty determined to bring the controversy into even more light. They really dialed into the situation itself, showing clear evidence that something is awry here. Maybe they will reach out to ESPN to get some comments on the matter. For now, though, the controversy over how live sports are shown on TV, specifically on ESPN+, will remain alive.