There was a breakdown on the BBC Scotland Channel shortly after 9.25pm tonight, when live coverage of the Hearts v FC Zurich match was interrupted due to “satellite issues”.
The breakdown lasted over ten minutes. Prior to the appearance of the breakdown slide, there was a few minutes or so of largely frozen picture/sound, with brief flashes of black screen (though we’re told the black flashes were unique to BBC iPlayer).
During the short periods of black on iPlayer, the channel DOG also disappeared.
The breakdown slide was accompanied by birdsong. Audio from BBC Radio Scotland coverage of the match might’ve been a more suitable substitute.
Just prior to returning to the live football, there were more brief flashes of black, interrupting the breakdown caption. Again the black flashes were, apparently, on the BBC iPlayer only.
Repeated black flashes also caused the iPlayer to crash out of the live stream on a number of occasions during the period affected by the satellite problem.
And there were some gremlins with the on-screen scorecard near the end of tonight’s match. When the extra time element was added to the on-screen timer, FC Zurich lost their goal. It was reinstated about and minute-and-a-half later.
Acknowledgements
PICTURED: BBC Scotland Channel breakdown graphic. COPYRIGHT: BBC.