July 8, 2024, 11:02 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Ironically, just before the Euro Cup round of 16 match last Tuesday, MagentaTV, Deutsche Telekom’s TV streaming service, experienced significant issues with login attempts. Affected (new) customers were initially put off. TECHBOOK knows how they can now get their money back.
The event is almost a week old. But even though the Euro Cup has progressed, affected soccer fans are likely still upset that they couldn’t watch the round of 16 match between Turkey and Austria from the start—not due to their own fault, but because they couldn’t log into the streaming service they subscribed to specifically for this purpose. Especially since it was initially said they wouldn’t be financially compensated. There have been developments since then. However, MagentaTV customers need to take action if they want to get their money back.
Overview
What Was Behind the MagentaTV Issues
It wasn’t technical problems that spoiled the experience for new MagentaTV customers. The issue arose during login attempts—simply because too many Euro Cup enthusiasts tried at the same time. The match between Austria and Turkey was one of those not broadcast on free TV, which led to some criticism in the country—according to the Federal Foreign Office, about three million people of Turkish descent live in Germany. MagentaTV shows some Euro Cup games exclusively, including last week’s match, and saw a significant number of new subscriptions as a result.
So what happened? The system couldn’t handle the many simultaneous login attempts. As an immediate solution, a free live stream was set up on the video portal YouTube. But for fans, this came valuable seconds too late—the first goal was scored in less than a minute.
Telekom Now Allows MagentaTV Customers to Get Money Back
Both teams have since been eliminated from the competition. Regardless, those affected by the glitch likely want compensation. According to a report by “Bild,” this was not initially planned shortly after the incident. But now Deutsche Telekom has announced in a statement that it wants to accommodate disappointed new customers. TECHBOOK inquired further.
What Affected Customers Must Do to Receive a Refund
Telekom wants to waive the fees for the first subscription month for customers who signed up for MagentaTV for the round of 16 match on July 2. The issues only affected new customers, a spokesperson emphasized in a conversation with TECHBOOK. Those who have been using MagentaTV for a while received the game without disruption. For everyone else, an online process is set to start on Monday (July 8) during the day. We couldn’t be told more specifics at this time—only that customers can “claim the amount owed to them without major hurdles.”
It is likely that the refund won’t be the end of it. According to the Telekom spokesperson’s assessment, about 98 percent of the affected new customers subscribed to MagentaTV’s Flex plan, which can be canceled monthly.