PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A cable television outage during Monday night's college football national championship game left Xfinity customers in northern Palm Beach County staring at black screens.
Customers told WPTV that the outages forced them to go to a sports bar to watch the game or rush to buy streaming equipment at another store.
WATCH BELOW: Here's what caused Xfinity outage during college football championship game
Comcast, which owns Xfinity, told us the outage was caused by a construction crew that accidentally cut the fiber lines.
A spokesperson said the outage took overnight repairs because crews had to pump out water located in the area near Military Trail along PGA Boulevard.
"Our team quickly identified the issue, worked overnight to complete repairs, and fully restored service this morning,” the company said. "We apologize for the inconvenience."
The company declined to say if it would offer a credit to customers for the disruption or how many people were affected by the outage.
According to the Seacoast Utility Authority website, they scheduled a construction project this year to install about 3,150 linear feet of pipe using directional drilling and open-cut methods.
The project is set to take place on the south side of PGA Boulevard from the west side of Interstate 95 to Alternate A1A.
On Tuesday, WPTV reporter Ethan Stein found crews from Centerline Drilling Services at the site, which was the only construction project nearby. Its manager told WPTV it cut the cable by accident on Monday, but he blamed the utility for not marking it correctly.
Rim Bishop, who is the executive director for the utility serving north Palm Beach County, including Palm Beach Gardens and Juno Beach, said he is currently researching the issue after WPTV contacted them late Tuesday afternoon. He also said he can't evaluate the presence or quality of marked lines.
"I am presently researching whether they were drilling in that area yesterday and whether they damaged Comcast infrastructure," he wrote in an email. "With respect to the presence or quality of line locates provided by firms or agencies other than Seacoast, there is no way for Seacoast to evaluate that."
BOOST FOR SPORTS BARS
Robyn Pizzichiello, who is an assistant to the manager at Stadium Grill in Abacoa, said the bar had "tables packed" for the National Championship game, even with a local team in the game. She credits the outage for bringing people to her restaurant.
"We had a great night," Pizzichiello said. "A lot of people came to watch the game. I think it's because the cable went out. You know a lot of people couldn't watch it at home, so why not go to your closest sports bar to watch the game."
She said the bar lost internet, but it was able to use hotspots to avoid any problems showing the game.
