BT Sport customers have complained after the broadcaster’s smart device app suffered technical issues in the first game of the Premier League season.
The problem is believed to have affected hundreds of people who used BT’s app to try and watch Liverpool vs Stoke on Saturday, with many missing the only goal of the match.
The broadcaster has committed to paying £738m over three years for the rights to air 38 live Premiership matches, compared to Sky’s 116 for £2.3bn.
Its 3G and 4G-enabled app, which also runs over WiFi connections, works on Apple and Android operating systems, but angry customers took to Twitter to complain that they were unable to get coverage of the first game of the season, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Liverpool.
BT said the failure hit "a minority" of viewers who tried to watch the game after it had started, and claimed to have solved the issue for the majority of those affected so they could watch the second half.
It tweeted on Saturday: "Sorry, some customers have seen an intermittent issue with the BT Sport App. We are working to resolve this, apologies to everyone affected."
BT has invested heavily in its sport coverage, with presenters including Jake Humphrey and Clare Balding working from its Olympic Park studio, as well as tripling its total number of viewers to 3m after striking a deal with Virgin Media to make its channels available to the latter’s subscribers.
BT said it was pleased with the social media responses to its coverage from most customers.
