The Call of Duty League started its 2023-2024 season with multiple technical difficulties after switching to a YouTube-exclusive stream.
The CDL recently announced they would no longer be dual streaming on Twitch and YouTube. Instead, the league returned to YouTube with yet another exclusivity deal for the remainder of the season.
Multiple community members expressed their displeasure with moving away from Twitch, especially after it brought more viewership to the CDL. This was echoed when the CDL broke a viewership record on Twitch during Major 3 of the 2022-2023 season.
The viewing experience has been less than ideal now that CDL has returned to YouTube. Within the season’s first two matches, fans noticed multiple broadcast errors during the games.
CDL fails to impress during season opener on YouTube
During a match between the Los Angeles Thieves and Seattle Surge, the CDL broadcast began experiencing issues. Despite the league being in operation for the last four years, they could still not properly match player names to their webcams.
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However, this wasn’t the only issue; at one point, the scoreboard showed two of the same player. Another player was also kicked from the lobby completely, being replaced by one of the referee accounts that was also in the lobby.
Dude the #CDL2024 is in shambles. 2 Arcitiys now, Abuzah still Illey, two number 5s on the map. Like I don't understand how you constantly continue to shit the bed.
— Almighty Alexa (@HollywoodChibi) December 8, 2023
“Dude the CDL is in shambles,” said one user on Twitter/X. “Two Arcitiys now, Abuzah still Illey, two number 5s on the map. Like I don’t understand how you constantly continue to sh*t the bed.”
My early vote for #CDL2024 MVP is CDLRef7 🔥🏆 pic.twitter.com/47gLe0JAzH
— d r e w (@its_nadaaa) December 8, 2023
Other watches tried to find the humor in the mistakes. One user on Twitter/X gave the referee account nomination for ‘MVP’ at the end of the season.
The CDL has yet to officially comment on the errors made on the broadcast – although it is the start of the new season, so it could be another case of first-day jitters.