YouTube TV goes down during World Cup's England v. Croatia semifinal

Really, YouTube?

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter

Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.

Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials

Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.

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Abrar Al-Heeti

July 11, 2018 1:04 p.m. PT

Maybe YouTube hasn't heard, but plenty of Americans love soccer.

World Cup fans watching the England-versus-Croatia semifinal on Wednesday went nuts when YouTube TV went on the fritz during the tense match. The outage, which was limited to the US, came ahead of the second half, when Croatia mounted a comeback.

"Hey everyone -- sincere apologies for streaming issues with YouTube TV," YouTube TV tweeted. "The timing is horrible but we're working to be up and running again ASAP!"

Hey everyone -- sincere apologies for streaming issues with YouTube TV. The timing is horrible but we're working to be up and running again ASAP!
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) July 11, 2018

The understatement and promises didn't mollify soccer fans, who were quick to express their frustration on -- where else? -- Twitter.

"Bad time for YouTube TV to go down," wrote one user. "It had better be working by the time the second half starts!"

Bad time for YouTube TV to go down. It had better be working by the time the second half starts! pic.twitter.com/cHoQIcHuBE
— Rik 🦊 (@stumpt_rik) July 11, 2018

It wasn't. When the streaming service finally had the game up and running about an hour later, fans had already missed Croatia's tying goal in the second half. They later scored again, defeating England by a score of 2-1.

A Downdetector map of the outage showed it was limited to the US.