Rachael and I just won our first tennis tournament in the mixed doubles division for 2.5s. I only started playing tennis last year, but it’s a lot of fun. It isn’t too hard on my knees and has turned out to be a passion.
The Tennis Channel App on Roku – Crashes and other problems
I signed up for a year of The Tennis Channel on my Roku TV in March. At first, it worked pretty well, though I noticed the audio and video would get out of sync pretty quickly. Restarting the app would fix it until the next commercial break. That was highly annoying, and I learned that many other people were having the same problem with no resolution.
That said, I discovered that pausing and restarting the stream would fix it, so I learned to live with it.
However, a few weeks ago, the whole app started crashing as soon as I selected a stream to watch – either live or pre-recorded.
I tried all the usual troubleshooting steps: rebooting the Roku, updating everything, reinstalling the Tennis Channel app, but nothing worked. This was the case for my TCL Roku TV and two Roku devices connected to other TV’s in my house.
Frustrated, my wife called Tennis Channel Support and the person on the other end of the line said “many other people are having the same problem.”
They said they’d be sending an email to tech support, which we soon got a response from. The email asked us to do all the same troubleshooting steps we’d already done! I did them again just to be sure, but no, nothing worked.
I started asking for a refund for my unused ~8 months of service, but Tennis Channel gave me a dubious denial:
You are requesting a full refund, which we cannot approve at this time. Your subscription was made with your own personal email, indicating that you signed up and agreed to the terms of service.
Alas, I was not requesting a full refund, I was requesting the remainder of the year I paid for, which I am unable to use because their crappy app isn’t working.
So, I filed a complaint with the FTC, who suggested I also file a complaint with my state’s Attorney General.
Done and done. You should do the same if you are having these problems!
- https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
- https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/file-a-consumer-complaint-how-to-reach-the-attorney-general-in-every-state/
Update – The Next Day – August 6
Turns out reporting them to the FTC actually worked. A day later I got a refund for the unused portion of the year I paid for!
Thank you for contacting Tennis Channel Customer Service!
We can confirm that your membership under this email address is now canceled, so you will not be billed in the future. We have also issued a refund for the remaining months of your subscription.