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Ideally, during the final minutes of a blockbuster playoff game, fans wouldn’t miss any of the game due to technical difficulties.
Unfortunately, fans missed part of the final minute of the Charlotte Hornets’ 127-126 overtime victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night because the Amazon Prime Video feed cut out.
The feed went off as play resumed after a timeout, with the Hornets leading the Heat 125-120 with 48.1 seconds left in overtime. The Amazon Prime Video outage lasted nearly two minutes, with fans losing 22.1 seconds of game time and a Hornets possession.
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Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball celebrates with guard Coby White after scoring against the Miami Heat during the second half of an NBA tournament game in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 14, 2026. (Nell Redmond/AP Photo)
The outage came as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr recently said he was concerned that rising prices for streaming games could infuriate sports fans. Carr’s comments come as the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports leagues are moving some of their games from traditional broadcasts to streaming services.
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The outage occurred because of a problem in the production truck, an Amazon Prime Video spokesperson told ESPN.
“Our teams restored the feed as quickly as possible to ensure fans could watch the end of the match. We are conducting a thorough internal review to determine the cause of the outage,” the spokesperson said.
BROADCAST TIM BRANDO Suggests sports fans consider where to watch games as streaming takes over.
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball drives to the basket against Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament game in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 14, 2026. (Nell Redmond/AP Photo)
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was one of many fans who took to social media to express their displeasure with the removal of the service.
“Tell me the game didn’t just stop?!!? Am I tripping?? WTH,” James posted on X.
The NBA signed an 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal with Amazon Prime Video that began this season, and the streaming service has exclusive rights to all six games in this year’s tournament.
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Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro battles against Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball during the second half of an NBA play-in tournament game in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 14, 2026. (Nell Redmond/AP Photo)
The game between the Heat (10th seed) and the Hornets (9th seed) was win-or-go-home. With the win, the Hornets will face the loser of the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers and No. 8 Orlando Magic on Friday.
If they beat the loser of this game, they will enter the NBA playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
