The first-ever broadcast of SmackDown from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was marred by a significant technical failure that disrupted the international live stream on Netflix. The incident occurred just minutes into the June 27th show, which was being held a day before the Night of Champions premium live event.
As the opening segment featuring Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton was underway, the global feed on the streaming platform abruptly cut out. Viewers internationally were met with an ad break message, and the outage persisted for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. When the broadcast was eventually restored, announcer Michael Cole acknowledged the delay with a humorous comment.
In response to the widespread issue, WWE issued a formal statement on its social media channels.
“To our international audiences watching #SmackDown on Netflix: We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly.”
This high-profile failure brings to light the challenges of live global streaming. The incident recalled past user frustrations regarding Netflix’s live sports capabilities, with service-tracking websites having noted complaints during other live sporting events in late 2024. While the platform promotes a suite of features for its live content, including rewind and pause functions, Friday’s broadcast from Saudi Arabia underscored the technical hurdles involved in such large-scale productions.
When the stream returned, it joined the match between Jimmy Uso and JC Mateo already in progress, which was then followed by Giulia defeating Zelina Vega to win the women’s United States Championship.