Spark Sport: No issues at our end

Spark Sport says its streaming of the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals ran well at its end, despite continuing complaints which have dogged the service since the tournament began.

Fans took to social media to express frustration during the Australia-England and All Blacks-Ireland games on Saturday night.

The majority of the complaints related to buffering, stuttering, freezing and out of sync streams.

But a spokeswoman for Spark Sport said the platform ‘‘performed well with no technical or capacity issues from our end’’.

‘‘The parts of the streaming journey that we are responsible for are working well, but that’s not to say that there aren’t a small minority of people having a poor experience,’’ she said.

The spokeswoman said the company could track the streaming chain until it entered people’s homes. Persistent issues were usually caused by poor-quality wi-fi or a device struggling to process the data.

During home visits Spark representatives found issues were relatively simple to resolve but required some tech know-how.

Customers with continuing issues should contact Spark Sport’s care teams to resolve the issue before the semifinals, she said.

The streaming service has faced hiccups since the All Blacks-South Africa match on the opening weekend.

Viewers were outraged with the lag time, choppy or pixelated images and slow customer response from Spark.

The provider activated its emergency plan and screened the second half on TVNZ Duke.

Spark Sport was prepared to screen Saturday night’s game on TVNZ Duke if necessary.

The Commerce Commission received 60 complaints from disgruntled customers since the tournament began.