Hulu Glitch Frustrates Oscar Viewers At Start Of Show

deadline.com:

The first livestream of the Academy Awards was marred by a tech glitch, frustrating viewers trying to log in for the beginning of the 97th annual telecast. “Unable to log in?” asked a message at the top of many viewers’ screens. “We’re on it!

Our team is currently investigating and we hope to have things back up and running soon. Thank you for your patience!” That same message was posted to Hulu‘s customer support accounts on social media.

The company did not immediately respond to Deadline’s request for additional comment on the situation. According to Down Detector, a website monitoring user issues with a range of digital services, the trouble began just as Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were taking the Dolby Theatre stage to open the show.

A flood of comments from stymied viewers filled X and many other platforms as the glitch became fully apparent. “The way @Hulu is tweeting the Oscars when its site has crashed and nobody can watch it is maybe the best metaphor for Hollywood’s current state yet,” screenwriter and novelist Dean Bakopoulos posted. “Just to recap: Hulu streamed a red carpet program with no problem, then instead of going into the Oscars went immediately into an episode of 20/20, and then crashed and made it impossible to watch the Academy Awards,” fumed Mike Hughes on X. “Great job, @Hulu @Hulu_Support.” The livestream was the first ever for the Oscars, but a number of high-profile live events have recently expanded to streaming, including last month’s SAG Awards and the Super Bowl.