TBS Viewers Say Their Feed Froze For An Entire Inning of ALDS Game 2

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal had an efficient first inning in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Monday. He struck out Steven Kwan on four pitches. He retired David Fry on a ground ball two pitches later. He struck out All-Star Jose Ramirez on seven pitches for a three-up, three-down inning.

At least some viewers of the TBS broadcast saw none of this.

Several took to social media Monday to complain about their screens being garbled or frozen for the first inning of the pivotal game in the best-of-five series.

Turner’s broadcast was frozen for the entire bottom of the 1st. pic.twitter.com/yl0cDranV1
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) October 7, 2024

“Switch from a cable box to streaming, you’ll save money,” he said to himself pic.twitter.com/Jvts61HHZD
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) October 7, 2024

Really enjoying the Guardians playoff game right now @TBSNetwork pic.twitter.com/h4Wkzi6LeO
— Don Delco (@DonDelco) October 7, 2024

Update: We're told the outage was a result of solar satellite interference (SSI), an infrequent occurrence in which the sun’s solar activity disrupts satellite signals. Even though viewers who streamed the game, or tuned in via fiber (as opposed to cable), many TV channels are broadcasted across the country by satellite. Satellites can be temporarily knocked offline when the sun passes directly behind them, allowing solar radiation to interfere with their ability to send signals back to Earth. It's chiefly an issue during day games.

On the one hand, viewers didn't miss much. Not only did Skubal not allow a hit in the first inning, he did not allow until the fifth inning of a 0-0 game.

Josh Naylor finds the gap for Cleveland's first hit of the game#ALDS pic.twitter.com/eYLhEyszz1
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2024

On the other hand, the possibility of viewers missing out on even part of a possible playoff no-hitter had to leave network executives squirming until the issue was resolved.

The Tigers stunned the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card round, sweeping the best-of-three series. Skubal pitched Game 1 of that round, leaving him available for Game 2 of the ALDS.

Cleveland delivered the first blow in the ALDS, winning Game 1 at Progressive Field, 7-0 on Saturday.

If the Wild Card round is any indication, viewers are tuning into the MLB Postseason with interest.

Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch reported the Tigers' upset of the Astros was the most-watched series in the Wild Card round. ABC averaged 3.19 million for Game 1 on Tuesday and 3.01 million for Game 2 on Wednesday, up 44 and 35 percent respectively from last year’s comparable Rangers-Rays games (2.21 and 2.24 million).