The 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup kicked off in an emphatic fashion. Washington Spirit arrived at Orlando, Florida’s Inter&Co Stadium to seek their revenge against arch-rivals Orlando Pride. One would expect all the fans to be completely locked in for the exciting clash. But talk about misery for those watching from the comfort of their home!

Given how crucial this match is for everyone, you’d expect them to stay in “DND (Do Not Disturb) mode”—no calls, no texts, phone set aside—the ultimate way to avoid disappointment, right? But who would have thought the biggest letdown would come from the very platform streaming the live-action? What happened during the game was that an interview with one of Orlando Pride’s owners was being conducted near the dugout.

Naturally, fans wouldn’t mind hearing from the stakeholders of the 2024 NWSL Shield and Championship winners. However, the broadcast prioritized the interview by displaying it in a larger box while relegating the live match to a smaller one, making it harder for viewers to follow the action properly. In fact, wait, the disappointment doesn’t end here!

To make matters worse, Prime Video frequently displayed ads during the game, directly interrupting the live coverage. Interestingly, this brings to mind a similar incident during an NHL game between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It wasn’t just the Bruins’ four-match losing streak or their heartbreaking 5-4 loss to the Leafs that frustrated fans.

Apparently, instead of showing the crucial power-play goal from the Bruins, the broadcasters untimely played a Chipotle advertisement. Talk about burritos and bad luck! Now, joining the unfortunate bandwagon is none other than Prime Video, disrupting fans’ viewing experience once again. No wonder netizens are voicing their frustration over the latest issue.

NWSL fans slam Prime Video over poor broadcasting priorities

Honestly, we already saw it coming. Such issues aren’t overlooked and fans had to bring this to the stakeholders’ notice. They took to X to express their dismay at Prime Video for interrupting the match with an unwarranted interview during the live game.  Live streaming of games on OTT platforms has become a common yet still evolving trend, making it inevitable for broadcasters to make mistakes.

While one fan appreciated Prime Video for enhancing its unique box-in-box telecast, frustration still lingers over the handling of the interview segment: “The box-in-box was a slight improvement, but doing an off-field interview + a photo slideshow *while* the game is being played is … not ideal! That feels like very much halftime show material.”

Let us help you recall that last year, the NWSL secured a historic $240 million broadcasting rights deal with four media partners alongside Prime Video, including CBS Sports, ESPN, and Scripps-owned ION. However, in broader terms, the Amazon-backed broadcaster is primarily responsible for airing today’s Challenge Cup, though additional platforms are covering it in specific regions. Committing such a blunder should have been the last thing Prime Video stakeholders allowed to happen.

“Can NWSL do better and not bombard the entire screen with off-field interview or ads while the game is going on :/” Honestly, better planning could have made the job simpler. It’s not like Prime Video shouldn’t have aired the interview—in fact, brownie points for that. Yet, given the significance of the game, they should have at least saved it for halftime. That would have been the ideal moment when fans might have actually been interested in hearing from Orlando Pride’s owner: “Hey @PrimeVideo how about you don’t cut away from @NWSL coverage in the middle of the match. Save it for halftime.”

Then again, we can’t simply just blame Prime Video and their broadcasting team. For a change, one can admit it was kind of a value addition from them to make the match more interesting. While no one has never seen something like that in soccer matches, in other sports they do feature interviews or other reactions during the live game. But seems like this beautiful game isn’t ready for this: “Why is there an interview in the middle of a game a FINAL between @WashSpirit and @ORLPride. Amazon thinks this is a different sport.”

To make things simpler for Prime Video, we’d like to point out that even if they had aired an interview with a big A-lister attending the game or a player or coach from either team, it still wouldn’t have interested or mattered to the fans. For them, the match was the priority. Testimonials like these can always wait until after the full 90 minutes. No wonder this netizen went as blunt as he could in calling out Prime Video: “Hey @PrimeVideo I don’t care who the owner of Orlando Pride is, I want to watch the game!!!”

Those attending the game in person must be relieved that they don’t have to deal with ads or mid-game disruptions. Meanwhile, we sympathize with people who couldn’t secure tickets or make it to Inter&Co Stadium to watch the match live. While the biggest perk for them is enjoying the game from the comfort of their own space, they’re also the ones enduring such mishaps.

Be that as it may, this is just a glimpse of the reactions circulating online. Many more fans took to the internet to vent their frustration over Prime Video’s broadcasting blunder. Regardless, we can only hope that such mistakes don’t happen again—not just from the Amazon-backed platform but from other broadcasters in the future. Otherwise, it might take away the essence of the game itself, one that invokes passion among the players and spectators alike.