‘SportsCenter’ was grounded Friday due to a worldwide computer outage
A worldwide Microsoft outage caused by a defect in a content update provided by cybersecurity platform CrowdStrike has caused problems all over the world this Friday morning. Across the planet Microsoft systems crashed due to the failed content update, leading to canceled flights, bank systems crashing, and more.
The “largest IT failure in history” has even impacted ESPN.
The outage impacted the network’s ability to get the morning broadcast of “SportsCenter” on the air, so viewers were treated to a stream of ESPN Radio’s “Unsportsmanlike Radio” with Freddie Coleman and Courtney Cronin:
SportsCenter is unable to air due to the Microsoft-Crowdstrike outage so ESPN and ESPN2 are airing ESPN Radio's Unsportsmanlike with Freddie Coleman and Courtney Cronin. pic.twitter.com/ZbVMoA0CTo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 19, 2024
Cronin posted about the outage on social media:
The Microsoft outage is affecting @SportsCenter's ability to get on air, so you're getting @UnSportsESPN with me and @ColemanESPN on @ESPN, ESPN 2 and @ESPNU for at least the next hour.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 19, 2024
Over at ESPN Gary Striewski and Randy Scott, who were set to host the morning edition of “SportsCenter,” shared videos about the start of their day as well as photographs of them waiting out the outage.
Good morning if you can see this
— Gary Striewski (@garystriewski) July 19, 2024
Here’s an update pic.twitter.com/802ShGKf8C
Yes. Here is proof. https://t.co/Esdjq4rorl pic.twitter.com/bCy5YJiatO
— Gary Striewski (@garystriewski) July 19, 2024
Eventually, “Get Up” began on ESPN. However, there were still some technical limitations, as graphics and “b-roll” were both limited. The show even opened with the “Blue Screen of Death” that many Microsoft users were seeing on their machines:
Despite the Microsoft outage, 'Get Up' is on the air, albeit without graphics or b-roll. Yet somehow, Domonique Foxworth is appearing remotely from Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/SCw9LOGNRk
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 19, 2024
On ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the network continued airing Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the Hungarian Grand Prix, rolling from the first practice session into extended coverage from the network, even though “SportsCenter” was supposed to air at that time.
As users worldwide continue to deal with the outage, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted an update on Twitter/X:
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
On the bright side, at least it is Friday.