Football fans across Bangladesh reported widespread disruptions on platforms streaming the opening matches of the 2026 Fifa World Cup on June 12, raising questions about whether major over-the-top services were prepared for the surge in demand.
Users complained on social media about delayed one-time passwords, payment problems, buffering and interruptions during live matches.
Many of the complaints concerned Toffee, the Banglalink-operated platform that holds the rights to stream World Cup matches in Bangladesh. Some subscribers said they faced long delays while trying to activate their subscriptions, while others reported repeated disruptions during broadcasts.
“I couldn’t even watch 20 minutes of the Mexico vs South Africa match. I would be happy if you could refund my 99 taka,” Anamul Haque wrote beneath one of Toffee’s Facebook posts.
Other users responded sarcastically, suggesting that subscriptions bought for this year’s tournament might become useful only by the next World Cup.
Gazi Towhid Ahmed, Banglalink’s head of corporate communications, said the delays were caused by a sharp rise in OTP requests after the live feed was disrupted.
“The delay was caused by an unusually high volume of OTP requests generated within a short period following the disruption in the feed, prompting subscribers to refresh and reinitiate their sessions multiple times,” he said.
“Our teams responded promptly and initiated the necessary remedial measures. Services have since returned to normal.”
Addressing complaints about buffering, Towhid said Banglalink was working with the relevant rights holder and technical partners to improve the service.
“Our teams are working closely with relevant stakeholders, including the World Cup feed rights holder and technical partners, to address the issues and strengthen platform performance,” he said.
“We sincerely apologise to our customers and subscribers who experienced disruptions during the live streaming of the World Cup on Toffee. We understand the disappointment this caused and deeply regret the inconvenience.”
Users of Bioscope+, the streaming platform operated by Grameenphone, also reported technical problems during the opening matches. Some subscribers said they were unable to log in and instead saw the app’s loading animation.
One Facebook user, Ofi, joked that he was “enjoying Bioscope+ app opening animation on TV” because he had paid for the service, describing it as a “nice pre-loader”.
Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Grameenphone’s head of communications, said some customers had experienced difficulties because of an unexpected technical problem.
“Our teams worked with utmost priority to restore normal service as quickly as possible,” he said. “We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.”
The disruptions drew criticism from customers, some of whom questioned whether the platforms had invested enough in infrastructure to support large numbers of viewers during a major international tournament.
The FIFA World Cup is expected to attract millions of viewers globally over the coming weeks, placing sustained pressure on digital platforms responsible for delivering uninterrupted live coverage. Attention will now turn to whether the providers can prevent similar problems as the tournament progresses and demand for live coverage increases.
