ESPN issues apology for outage on ABC broadcast, reveals reason for disruption in Kentucky vs. Auburn

ESPN has issued an apology following the technical difficulties that cut short the ABC broadcast of No. 1 Auburn at No. 17 Kentucky. They revealed the cause of the outage in a statement released to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

“In a freak accident, a generator at Rupp Arena caught on fire causing us to lose power and be knocked off the air as a result,” the statement read. “Thankfully, no one was harmed on-site. We apologize that fans watching on ABC were impacted for a period in the second half.”

The broadcast stopped with 12:25 left in the second half as Auburn’s Johni Broome attempted a layup with the Tigers leading the Wildcats 68-52.

KSR’s Matt Jones provided some initial insight on the broadcast being cut off. He reported that there was a “major technical issue” outside of Rupp Arena. He said that this included the ABC broadcasting truck, which had reportedly “lost all power.”

Amid the outage, Kentucky Athletics released a statement via social media noting that they are aware of the situation.

“We’re aware of the technical difficulties ABC is experiencing broadcasting today’s @kentuckymbb game. They’re working to restore the broadcast as soon as possible.”

They were unable to regain the live feed before the end of the game and ABC moved ahead with the NHL regular season matchup between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins that was scheduled to air live after the conclusion of Auburn-Kentucky.

Auburn would eventually defeat Kentucky 94-78 with the only spectators being the ones inside Rupp Arena. It’s the first time that Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has won in Lexington since taking over the program, and the Tigers’ first win over the Wildcats on their home floor since 1988.

Tigers star Johni Broome was held to just nine points and six rebounds during the contest, but it was the trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford that scored 73 points on their own — five points shy of Kentucky’s entire scoring total.

The win improves Auburn to 27-2 overall, and 15-1 in SEC play. The Tigers will next travel to No. 12 Texas A&M for a Tuesday night matchup in College Station. They will round out their regular season at home against No. 6 Alabama.

For Kentucky, the Wildcats suffered their 10th loss of the season to Auburn. They’ll host unranked LSU on Tuesday night and finish the regular season on the road at No. 14 Missouri.