Amazon is getting slammed with one-star reviews from Prime subscribers angry over its coverage of the US Open

pulse

August 29, 2018 4:36 PM

Amazon is being deluged with one-star reviews for its coverage of the US Open in the UK. Customers are complaining about poor picture quality and the inability to record and fully rewind matches.

Amazon is being deluged with one-star reviews for its coverage of the US Open in the UK.
Customers are complaining about poor picture quality and the inability to record and fully rewind matches.
Amazon said it is addressing specific issues and is "always working to improve all aspects of our service."

Amazon is showing the US Open for the first time in the UK — and judging by the reception from tennis fans, it's not going down well.

The company has been deluged with one-star reviews from Amazon Prime customers, first spotted by The Sun, with the Flushing Meadows tournament now in its third day.

The Guardian pointed out that reviews had been disabled, although this was due to a bug on the US Open highlights page. People can still leave comments on the live coverage.

Customers have been complaining about the poor picture quality, while the inability to record and fully rewind matches was also cited as a reason for bad ratings. At the time of writing, 92% of customer reviews gave the highlights show one-star.

"This is just terrible," said one customer, named Babbles. "A huge backwards step for tennis," another added. A third reviewer cited a famous John McEnroe quote when they said: "You can’t be serious."

Amazon secured the UK television rights to the US Open earlier this year in a deal said to be worth $40 million (£30 million). It is part of a big move into sports coverage that saw the company bag Premier League rights in June.

But the poor reviews demonstrate that live sports coverage isn't always easy to pull off, despite Amazon setting up a studio at Flushing Meadows and hiring former pros including Jim Courier to present its coverage.

An Amazon spokeswoman said: "We are working with customers to address specific issues — we listen to all customer feedback and are always working to improve all aspects of our service."

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