LeBron James is one of the best athletes in human history, and he's one of the richest too, as one of just four athletes to be recognized by Forbes as a billionaire.
But even at the top of the mountain, James still has to watch sports on the same platforms that everybody else does. So he experiences the same problems.
It seems like James was struggling to watch some NFL football on YouTube TV on Monday night, and he took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his frustrations.
"Why does YouTube TV be buffering so damn much!!??!!??" James wrote. "Very frustrating."
Why does YouTube TV be buffering so damn much!!??!!?? 🤦🏾♂️. Very frustrating
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 7, 2023
Related: YouTube makes a desperate NFL Sunday Ticket move
It's unclear what James was watching, but he sent out the tweet at 10:59 Eastern Time which was during the second half of the "Monday Night Football" game between the Los Angeles Chargers and New York Jets on ESPN and ABC.
James had actually just wrapped up play as well as the Los Angeles Lakers took a one-point loss to the Miami Heat in South Beach where James dropped 30 points in 37 minutes of action.
The King has been open about his love for the NFL and the Cleveland Browns. He's taken it to another level this season as he has been consistently going live on Instagram to share his winner picks for each week's slate of games.
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Related: YouTube's big bet on the NFL is losing a ton of money in year 1
In May, YouTube TV faced a social media firestorm due to the buffering that occurred during a crucial NBA Playoff game. YouTube TV subscribers said their streams cut off during the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.
That game ended up becoming a foreshadowing for some user experience issues that YouTube TV has been facing through this ongoing NFL season.
On Oct. 29, the Sunday of NFL's Week 8 slate, YouTube TV subscribers reported buffering that caused many to miss parts of the 1 p.m. Eastern Time games. That even included Buffalo Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, whose team had already played that week and was at home due to injury.
You pay all this money for streaming services…just so they don’t work on the days you actually need them 🫠
— DaQuan Jones (@RiDQulous_98) October 29, 2023
YouTube TV acquired the rights to "NFL Sunday Ticket" — a service that allows fans to watch every NFL game — this season from DirecTV. The seven-year deal runs for about $2 billion annually.
The service has reportedly generated about 1.3 million subscribers, which is more than that 1.2 million that DirecTV had prior to YouTube TV's acquisition. However, a Morgan Stanley report published in late October said the service is likely bleeding over a billion dollars a year for YouTube.
The report said that YouTube is going to need around 3 million subscribers to break even for its acquisition.
However, profitability may not necessarily be the goal for YouTube and its "NFL Sunday Ticket" acquisition. Columbia University sports management professor Joe Favorito told TheStreet last week that there could be a longer term goal for YouTube to build customers by using the NFL as a "marketing tool."
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