Explanation revealed for technical difficulties on KING-5’s Seahawks vs. Vikings broadcast

We want to provide some closure to the great preseason “technical difficulties” panic of 2023. If you’re wondering why the KING-5 NBC broadcast for the Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings game was having all sorts of technical issues, it looks like we have an answer.

Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reported that “a Vyvx encoder in Burbank, California within master control had a problem requiring a re-boot every time the broadcast went to a break. Took a while to ID it but finally got it figured out at halftime.”

Anyone with a functioning brain knew it was the Vyvx encoder. How could it have been anything else?! Everyone knows how important the Vyvx encoder is to transmitting television signals.

Field Gulls was told that the issue was “entirely on the Seahawks side,” and that the production team couldn’t get the signal uploaded via satellite. It should be noted that preseason broadcasts (unlike regular season broadcasts handled by national networks like CBS, FOX, and ESPN), some teams produce telecasts in-house, and the Seahawks are among them. Vyvx is a Lumen product, so chances are that’s what Seattle uses.

This persistent issue caused the “technical difficulties” graphic to pop-up for local viewers, whereas those who watched on NFL Network were switched to the Minnesota Vikings broadcast, and several FOX affiliates (including in Portland, OR) carrying the simulcast of the Seahawks feed briefly popped over to the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal between Spain and The Netherlands. Understandably, fans were very upset, but the problem went away after halftime.

All of this is to say: Leave KING-5 alone! This is the network that gave you Almost Live! These things happen and thankfully this was only preseason and not a game of massive importance.