Fox Loses Power During World Series Broadcast

During one of the most viewed World Series matchups of recent memory, a power outage could not have come in the worst time. This was the case for television network Fox as an untimely power outage resulted in the entire TV audience to have the game blacked out while the game was in play last night during Game 1 of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets.

The outage happened during the bottom of the fourth inning which resulted in a screen saying that the network was experiencing “techincal difficulties.” This resulted in the game being halted and MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre talking to umpires and Royals manager Ned Yost and Mets manager Terry Collins. This regarded replay being used for officials in New York had no way of watching the game if there was a play that to be reviewed, with both managers agreeing to continue play without replay. While Fox was trying to fix the problem, the broadcast came back on with MLB’s international feed with Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz on call while Fox commentators Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds, and Tom Verducci had to wait for Fox to return. “The on-field delay was due to replay capability being lost in both teams’ clubhouses. We apologize for the interruption in tonight’s coverage and are working to ensure that the remainder of the World Series is broadcast without incident,” said Fox in a statement.

Eventually, the broadcast turned over to the Fox team in the sixth inning and no other broadcast errors occurred during the 14-inning epic Game 1, with he Royals beating the Mets 5-4.

Photo: KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 27: Joe Torre, Major League Baseball’s Chief Baseball Officer, meets with umpires in the fourth inning to discuss technical difficulties during Game One of the 2015 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium on October 27, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)