ESPN apologises after coverage cuts out before Australia’s buzzer-beater winner over Tall Blacks

The Tall Blacks appear devastated after losing to Australia. Photo / Photosport

A technical glitch in the world basketball broadcast system left some fans unable to watch the dramatic conclusion of the Tall Blacks’ clash with Australia, where a buzzer-beating three-pointer sealed a thrilling victory for the Boomers.

William “Davo” Hickey’s shot off the backboard saw Australia overcome a 10-point deficit to beat New Zealand 79-77 in their Fiba World Cup qualifying match in Wellington.

But it was a moment fans were denied watching live after broadcast coverage cut out with two minutes and 34 seconds on the clock, when the Tall Blacks were leading 75-70.

Fans had to wait for ESPN and Fiba’s social media accounts to post the game-winning shot.

The issue impacted viewers watching ESPN coverage in New Zealand and Australia and on streaming platform Disney+, while a similar issue also saw the first 1m 15s of the match missed.

ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Corporation and after the match cut out, there were minutes of adverts before another basketball programme started.

Fans were quick to vent their frustrations to Sky and ESPN, but both networks said they were not responsible for the broadcast, with Fiba holding the broadcast rights for all World Cup qualifying games.

One person said: “TV doing literal “quit while we’re ahead” with two minutes to go in the Tall Blacks game?“

Another fan added: “You start the coverage late into the 1st qtr and then cut the feed before the game end. Useless.”

Fiba, basketball’s international federation, has been approached for comment, while Basketball New Zealand didn’t want to comment.

ESPN, in a statement to the Herald, apologised to disappointed viewers and said it was investigating.

“We’re sorry to our ESPN viewers who missed out on the final minutes of the NZ and Aussie game due to a FIBA-controlled production issue,” a ESPN spokesperson said.

“This was beyond our control and due to the third-party service FIBA uses, DAZN Connect, encountering an issue that they were unable to resolve.”

According to the Daily Telegraph, Basketball Australia officials have contacted ESPN and Fiba for an explanation as to why the broadcast cut out.

The Tall Blacks return to the court in late February and early March for matches against the Philippines and Guam at to-be determined locations.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.