World Cup fans feel ‘cheated’ as streaming platforms crash, freeze and fail

Mohammad Asaduzzaman purchased a Toffee subscription with Tk 129 a week ago to watch the FIFA World Cup matches on his smartphone.

But when he tried to watch the match between defending champions Argentina and Austria on Monday night on his device, he was unable to catch any of the action as his screen repeatedly froze, displaying messages such as “Woops! Something went wrong” and “Rate exceeded”.

“I feel cheated. Why do they sell so many subscriptions if they don’t have the capacity to handle the huge traffic?” Asad said.

Asad’s nightmarish experience is no different from that of many others across the country who turned to OTT platforms like Toffee and Bioscope to witness the biggest show on earth.

Fans who paid from Tk 97 to Tk 129 as a subscription fee but were unable to watch the matches have made their dissatisfaction known on social media, spamming the Facebook pages of both Toffee and Bioscope, slamming them for repeated interruptions during live streaming.

The experience was even worse on the opening day of the World Cup on June 12, when both major streaming platforms—Bioscope of Grameenphone and Toffee of Banglalink—collapsed as football fans crowded onto the platforms to watch the tournament's opening ceremony.

One Facebook user wrote: “So it seems that both Bioscope and Toffee are complete scams. If you can’t handle the traffic, why are you even offering a streaming service?”

The FIFA World Cup is among the most-watched sporting events in Bangladesh. Matches involving football powerhouses like Argentina, Brazil and Germany attract massive audiences, placing enormous pressure on digital broadcasting infrastructure.

Across Facebook, users reported recurring issues ranging from low video quality and delayed feeds to complete outages during high-profile matches.

Screenshots of error messages quickly circulated online, often accompanied by sarcastic memes and expressions of disappointment.

In Bangladesh, apart from the state-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV), Somoy TV and T Sports are broadcasting the World Cup matches. Grameenphone’s streaming service Bioscope and Banglalink’s streaming service Toffee have also acquired broadcasting rights for the tournament.

Before the World Cup, Bioscope sold season passes for Tk 97 while Toffee charged Tk 99 for it.

Once the tournament kicked off, both platforms hiked their prices, with Bioscope now charging Tk127 for access to the entire tournament, while Toffee is charging Tk129.

But even with hiked-up prices, the quality of service hasn’t improved, complained users.

Telecom companies Grameenphone and Banglalink say they received user complaints and resolved the issues following the tournament's opening ceremony.

Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, head of communications, Grameenphone, said, “Due to an unexpected technical issue, some customers experienced difficulties while streaming the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremony on Bioscope+. The issue has since been resolved, and we are taking all necessary measures to ensure an enhanced viewing experience for our customers.”

In another statement sent on Tuesday, Banglalink said, “We are aware that some users experienced streaming disruptions on Toffee last night (Monday). Our teams have addressed the issue and are closely monitoring the platform to ensure a stable viewing experience. We appreciate our users' patience and continued support.”

However, despite the companies' claims that the problems have been resolved, users continue to accuse the platforms of providing poor streaming services.

Shafin Ibrahim, a physician from Narayanganj, filed a complaint with the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection on June 12 after failing to watch the tournament despite paying Tk 99 for a Toffee subscription.

On Wednesday, Shafin received a full TV package from Toffee as compensation for his earlier poor experience, only to encounter another problem on Thursday morning while trying to watch the match between Brazil and Scotland.

“When I tried to watch the match live, a message popped up saying ‘Content not available’,” Shafin said.

For streaming-related issues, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is the authority responsible for overseeing complaints, as it issues licences to telecom operators.

When contacted, the regulator said it was treating the issue seriously and had sought explanations from the telecom operators concerned.

“The commission is considering measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” BTRC said in a statement sent to Waadaa.

The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), which works to safeguard consumer rights and interests, said mobile phone subscribers are routinely deprived of their rights.

S M Nazer Hossain, vice-president of CAB, said the system functions as a one-way mechanism when it should be a two-way process.

“People are helpless. There is no effective complaint mechanism,” Nazer said.