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NBA League Pass Issues on Apple TV

I have posted in other discussions about this, but after being on the phone with Apple Support I figured I’d make a brand new discussion I could reference the next time I speak to them. Maybe we could get a collective of everyone reporting the same thing and they will fix the issue.


I got an AppleTV for Christmas, my wife specifically got it for me so I could use the NBA League Pass with it. It really sounded like a GREAT gift just for that purpose alone because I watch as much Basketball as I can.


I set up the unit, got the latest update, signed into the NBA League Pass on AppleTV and watched my first game. Well the experience started to be horrible from that point on.


  1. About 60 seconds into the game, the stream started buffering. The buffering could last anywhere from 60 seconds to 5 minutes before anything happened.
  2. Sometimes the connection would stop and AppleTV would tell me no video feed is available. I’d go back to the menu and click on the game again and the stream would start again, but not from where last saw. I’d have to rewind back to that point.
  3. When rewinding back to the last part of the game I saw, the buffering would start again and take forever to display the part of the game I wanted to watch. Also, sometimes during rewinding it would just say now video feed was available.


Okay so at this point I am pretty frustrated. So I call support and explain the situation. They immediately job to the conclusion that it is my internet speed causing the issue. I have the fastest internet speed available in my area and average 38mbps DOWN/ 4mbps UP so that is definitely not the issue. I even offered to provide them In Network and Out of Network speedtest just to prove this.


User uploaded file - In Network Test

User uploaded file - In state - Out of Network

User uploaded file - Out of State - Out of Network


Secondly, they blame the fact that I am running wireless. Yes, wireless isn’t the best for streaming video but Wireless N provides more than enough bandwidth into account. And the speedtest I provided were from a wireless computer further away from the router then my AppleTV so I don’t think that’s the issue.



So Apple Support tells me to retore to factory defaults and then reset everything up. I do this and try to watch another game. Same issue. So I decide to hardwire the AppleTV to see if the problem is with my wireless. This did not change a thing. Same buffering issues. Same loss of feed issues.



Has everyone else been having these same problems with the NBA league pass? I am very frustrated at this point and ready to return this stupid thing.

AppleTV 2

Posted on Dec 30, 2011 1:40 PM

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Posted on Dec 30, 2011 3:57 PM

everyone is having the same issues. Its really nothing you can do to fix these problems. I finally gave up on trying to watch it. it starts and stops every 10 seconds. its not real HD. the blackout rules make no sense. Im in baltimore maryland and im blacked out from watching a game thats in memphis and california but im able to watch the washington wizards home games. you cant see what part of the game youre on when you are trying to rewind and fast foward. everything about the league pass on the apple tv is fu**ed up because it works fine on the computer. no lags. no start and stops and you can watch multiple games at once. I just want my money back for the league pass but nobody ever seems to be working when im trying to get someone on the live chat.

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Dec 30, 2011 3:57 PM in response to Ruffrider

everyone is having the same issues. Its really nothing you can do to fix these problems. I finally gave up on trying to watch it. it starts and stops every 10 seconds. its not real HD. the blackout rules make no sense. Im in baltimore maryland and im blacked out from watching a game thats in memphis and california but im able to watch the washington wizards home games. you cant see what part of the game youre on when you are trying to rewind and fast foward. everything about the league pass on the apple tv is fu**ed up because it works fine on the computer. no lags. no start and stops and you can watch multiple games at once. I just want my money back for the league pass but nobody ever seems to be working when im trying to get someone on the live chat.

Dec 30, 2011 10:34 PM in response to Rod410

Same EXACT issues here. Only complaining about the Apple TV product: 1) Buffering makes the games unwatchable (my connection speed averages 30 mbps), 2) The stream is constantly being dropped taking me out of the game I'm watching and back to the game selection screen, 3) Advanced features are non-existant (can't fast forward to specific quarters, highlights, etc.) 3) Switching between games restarts the game from the beginning, and if you start a game late and watch it while it is live, it will end the game when the game ends in real time (meaning you will miss the end of the game as it will simply end and not allow you to finish). I'm sure there are other problems that I'm not thinking of or haven't discovered yet.


Basically, compared to MLB.tv this product ***** on Apple TV. But all of these problems seem like a programming fix. Then of course there are the ridiculous National TV black out rules.


P.S. The Pistons v. Celtics game is now available (10:00 p.m. Pacific time), much later than the other games for some reason.

Jan 1, 2012 3:44 PM in response to Ruffrider

I'm glad I read this...I was just about to jet to my nearby bestbuy to pick up an ATV2 for nba league pass broadband.


Not surprised at all. I have subscribed to NBA LP Broadband for the past two years and have always been disappointed in its poor implementation of delivering its content. The worst is to check into a game right after it's live feed has ended, and to be greeted by the "this game will be available for replay soon" message. This lack of "transparency" in the way content is delivered runs across the board in their poorly conceived UI interface, the cludgy log-in process (through a series of webpages), and the poor poor customer support.


They really don't care. There are no competitors, there is no pressure to improve it. Content-delivery for NBA games, and probably all professional sports, is seriously seriously broken. The only reason to own cable/satellite for me, is to watch the NBA, but it's such a waste. And if you just decide to go with the NBA LP Broadband, you miss out on all the marquee games only available on ESPN and TNT (and now NBA TV) throughout the season. And then when the playoffs roll around, you're screwed, because you can only watch the playoffs on cable/satellite.


The only moment of grace, is to watch over-the-air HD feeds of the NBA Finals, which is FREE.


I'm curious to see if Apple and the NBA can get NBA LPB working on the ATV2, but I wouldn't hold your breath. The fault probably most likely falls on the NBA's end, not Apple's, past subscribers of NBA LPB, like me, know.

Jan 1, 2012 6:24 PM in response to Ruffrider

I am convinced this is an actual Apple TV issue. I can use the League pass app on my iPad with no issues at all. There is no buffering, the picture is great and everythign functions as it should (other than you can't stream the picture through Airplay to my bigscreen).


I always thought the Apple TV used similar, if not the same, hardware as an iPad so I'm baffled why this performs so poorly.

Jan 1, 2012 7:03 PM in response to Ruffrider

Either way, if it is Apple TV or NBA League Pass's App for the Apple TV, the REAL problem is NBA LP is nothing more than a lousy compliment to traditional TV (cable, satellite, etc.) and for those individuals like me who won't pay for cable or satellite it's a subpar product. Their whole claim of being able to watch any game anywhere is a farce! Over half of ANY marquee team's (Celtics, Lakers, Heat, Thunder, Bulls, etc.) games are blacked out, will not be archived, and are therefore unwatchable. It's a waste of money.

Jan 2, 2012 11:04 PM in response to hola-donde

I can't even get the 2011-12 season to load on my Apple TV. It's stuck in June — 2010-11 standings, the games calendar won't advance past June and it won't accept my login.


I'm running iOS 4.4.4 and software update in the Settings menu says it's up-to-date. Any idea what the problem is or what could be a workaround? NBA.com tech support said to run software update or "download new software from iTunes," but I wasn't aware you could download AppleTV software from iTunes.

Jan 2, 2012 11:19 PM in response to MojaveNC

Goto the settings on your apple tv and check again that your software is up to date. I know that they put out a update not to long ago. But as far as the league pass, the techs are telling you something that will deflect the problems away from their service and make it seem like your devices are not up to date causing you issues. you cant download apple tv software from itunes. Its Nba League pass thats all messed up. It works when it wants to. It starts and stops every 10 seconds making it impossible to watch a game. They blackout alot of games so you dont even have access to games that you might want to see. My advice would be to not pay any money for league pass after the free trial ends. But if you want to only be able to watch 10 minutes of a game then league pass will be perfact for you.

Jan 3, 2012 10:06 AM in response to Larrylenexa

It seems that Roku users are having a bad experience too. I googled into their Forums, and there were a few pretty long disgruntled threads.


Last night, I tried the Free Preview (until 1/8) hooking my Laptop via HDMI to my TV. In actuality, that is probably the most stable experience of NBA LPB you can have. I watched Minnesota (Rubio!!) vs San Antonio, and most of the game was marred by fluorescent green bars filling a quarter of the screen on the right and bottom. Still passable, but ya know...The funny thing is, you think that if you watched it later via the "DVR archive" functionality, they would clean it up. But they don't, same scabby feed archived for your viewing pleasure.


So as a non-cable subscriber, I'm in the same position as I have been the last two years. Pay a minimum of $110 for a subpar experience of viewing my favorite non-marquee teams (less subject to blackouts) and then be screwed when the playoffs roll around, only to be saved by OTA HD of the Finals.


If you do decide to subscribe to NBA LPB, you are setup by default to auto-enroll when the next season rolls along. Be sure, to "untick" that box buried somewhere in account settings, otherwise it is a serious PIA to get refunded if you forget. Their customer support is very kludgy. This happened to me last year, and I tried to get refunded but they didn't allow it, pointing to fine print in the subscriber agreement. So I relented to another year of...this.

NBA League Pass Issues on Apple TV

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