‘Love is Blind’ live reunion delayed as Netflix pleads for patience

By David Goldman, CNN

Netflix’s highly anticipated live reunion Sunday for the season 4 cast of its reality dating show “Love is Blind” has been delayed after technical issues kept eager fans waiting.

Eventually, Netflix opted to tape the show for streaming, announcing it would be available globally at 3 pm ET Monday.

“To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned,” Netflix tweeted in a statement. “We’re filming it now and we’ll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and sorry.”

The second live show in Netflix’s history was expected to start at 8 p.m. ET Sunday. A couple minutes after its scheduled start time, Netflix tweeted: “Love is … late. #LoveIsBlindLIVE will be on in 15 minutes!”

A few minutes later, the streaming service promised the show “will be worth the wait….” When Netflix subscribers tried to access the stream, they were met with a screen that said, “It’s almost time! The live event will start soon.”

The company isn’t used to airing live events like many of its streaming competitors. The only live show to air on Netflix came on March 4 when it live-streamed “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” a standup special from the comedian. That streamed without a hitch.

Netflix’s rivals have found success with live streaming. Amazon Prime started airing Thursday Night Football last year. Apple TV+ partners with Major League Baseball for select games. And other competitors have gotten into the live space, as well.

But Netflix has been notoriously resistant — not because of technological hurdles, but because the company has repeatedly said live broadcast rights, particularly for sports, come at a high cost. Still, Netflix had a rough 2022, losing subscribers as consumer behavior shifted. The company started experimenting with live broadcasts as the media landscape continues to shift.

As the world waited for the reunion episode, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the silly and biting social media posts started to roll in.

Among the angry fans was New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom Netflix retweeted.

Blockbuster, the bankrupt former video store, tweeted: “Remember renting vhs’ from us. You could start it on time no problem… This is what we get.”

The “Love is Blind” series features couples that propose before seeing one another. It helped the company solidify its reality TV chops when it started streaming three years ago, at a time when traditional network and broadcast television were essentially the only places to get a reality fix.

The-CNN-Wire
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