Worldwide blackouts have struck the Euro 2008 coverage for three times Wednesday evening, when the pictures of three goals during the Germany vs Turkey semifinal in Basel were denied to all television viewers.
The live signal went missing for over 25 minutes in a total. Short into the second half, the picture disappeared for six minutes with no changes on scoreboard, again for seven minutes when Germany scored the second goal to go 2-1 ahead, and then for the last 10 to 15 minutes before it sealed a dramatic 3-2 in favor of Joachim Loew’s side.
It affected all of the world’s Euro coverage relying on the authorized international signal, including the Briton-based BBC and the ESPN in the United States.
Also disappeared the pictures on all the screens in Vienna’s Sub Media Center at Ernst Happel Stadion, which, unlike the commercial broadcasters worldwide, even did not give the stadium audio in the meantime but managed to keep score updated.
Tournament organizers have not yet made official statement to explain the blackout accident, and officials in Vienna SMC emphasized the thunderstorm here during the match.
The storm, unleashing dangerous lightning, heavy rains and highwindes, hardly blew off the roof of the tabernacular media workroom.
It was reported that the Austrian capital is the hub of TV operations for Euro 2008.