Word began to trickle out across social media early Friday afternoon as thousands tried to access Bleacher Report’s live stream of the Tiger-Phil match in Las Vegas: There seemed to be a problem.
Users visiting the Bleacher Report site to pay for access to The Match were, well, unable to pay for access to The Match.
Literally TRYING to give B/R Live my money and cannot to watch Cat/Lefty and don’t have a way to watch PPV so great job, B/R. Really shining under pressure here.
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) November 23, 2018
ESPN media reporter Darren Rovell was all over the malfunction. “Bleacher Report Live stream slow or not working,” he wrote on Twitter.
Bleacher Report Live stream slow or not working. No one click button to order. Unlike boxing with PPV and undercards, after first tee shot, people aren’t going to try. Potential boondoggle in the making here. pic.twitter.com/v408dQ8OHz
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 23, 2018
But as the afternoon wore on, users began to notice a change: the link to the B/R live stream was suddenly going through for free.
Also folks if anyone hasn't been watching and wants to this link is FREE ya'll. https://t.co/lKN4XEDyAY
— Josh Berhow (@Josh_Berhow) November 23, 2018
Rovell reported through a source that executives from Turner, which is in charge of distributing The Match, decided to give the stream away for free. The decision was made, Rovell said, “when purchase function broke down to point where those who bought had trouble getting in.”
BREAKING: Source says Turner execs decided to give Phil-Tiger match away for free on B/R Live streaming platform (instead of $20 charge) when purchase function broke down to point where those who bought had trouble getting in.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 23, 2018
Turner spokesman Nate Smeltz told Rovell in statement: “We experienced a technical issue on Bleacher Report Live that impacted user access to The Match. We took a number of steps to resolve the matter with our main priority being to deliver the content to those who purchased the event.”
At the time of this posting, Bleacher Report had not responded to GOLF.com’s request for comment.
