Paramount+ is crashing for Super Bowl viewers. What we know and streaming alternatives

Planning to watch Super Bowl LVIII on Paramount+? Well, you better have a backup ready to go just in case.

Viewers watching the NFL pre-show on Paramount+ are reporting problems with the streaming service, just hours before the 2024 Super Bowl kickoff. In some instances, the Super Bowl feed is completely crashing, making it completely inaccessible on the platform.

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“Paramount+ crashed,” posted one X user along with the hashtag #SuperBowl and a screenshot of the error message reading “Sorry, this video is currently unavailable.”

Another user posted a completely different error message that they received when experiencing issues on Paramount+.

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“Unfortunately, an error occurred during playback,” reads the prompt when the streaming platform crashed.

“OOPS! We’re having some trouble playing this video,” is another reported error pop-up that viewers are seeing, following an “error code: 3002” message telling the user to check their internet connection or router.

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Mashable’s Erik Hall shared that he’s experiencing the issues with Paramount+ as well, with the app crashing two times in the last hour.

DownDetector reports for Paramount+ downtime are spiking.
Credit: DownDetector

The feed is returning for some users, after a refresh – at least, until the next time it crashes.

According to DownDetector, these viewers are not alone. Reports of Paramount+ downtime seems to have started to surge around 5:20pm ET, with the complaints continuing to grow.

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Alternative Super Bowl watching options

It would be smart to have a backup ready to go just in case Paramount+ continues to struggle with all the Super Bowl traffic.

If you have a TV antennae, you can watch the game at absolutely no cost on CBS.

Otherwise you can subscribe to live TV streaming services such as YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Stream, or Fubo, which all include CBS in their streaming package.

These viewing options can be costly, ranging from $70 to $80 per month. But, this is the Super Bowl so maybe having these backup options ready to go is worth it to you.