CBS faced significant audio syncing issues during the UEFA Champions League semifinal, causing frustration among U.S. viewers. The audio was reportedly two seconds ahead of the video throughout the first half of the match between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal.
There are obviously obstacles that broadcasters encounter when it comes to presenting international events to a wide audience. But it's difficult to think of a network that has struggled more with audio syncing than CBS has in the Champions League. The persistent issues reached an embarrassing level on Wednesday. As both Atletico Madrid and Arsenal took the field for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal, fans watching the match in the U.S. quickly noticed that something was off with the broadcast. The audio was about two seconds out of sync, as announcer Chris Wittyngham's calls played before the gameplay on the screen. Social videos appeared to have the sound in sync, but that wasn't the case for viewers watching on both CBS and Paramount Plus.
ARSENAL STRIKE FIRST ⚡️
Viktor Gyökeres clinical from the spot to put the English side in front 💥 pic.twitter.com/IBVZRLgvQC
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 29, 2026 Soccer fan justifiably fuming as the audio remained out of sync for the entire first half. It's amazing that P+ has had an audio/video sync problem through the entire Champions League season.
Maybe it's a feed problem, maybe not, but whatever the issue, amazing it's been allowed to persist the entire UCL season.
The audio is seconds ahead of the video right now.
— Kyle Bonn (@the\_bonnfire) April 29, 2026 Would be nice if CBS could fix their audio
— Austin (@rondarouseyszn) April 29, 2026 .@CBSSports@CBSSportsGolazo fix the audio in the Arsenal Atleti match.. it's ahead of the video
— Dave (@sportsinfive) April 29, 2026 As if it's not bad enough that CBS is on such a weak signal in the greater Cincinnati area that many homes can't pick it up on an antenna, they can't get the audio right for one of the biggest matches in the world.
We used to be a proper country.
— Ben Baby (@Ben\_Baby) April 29, 2026 The CBS audio is like 5 seconds ahead of the picture
— Boone Out (@mo\_spade) April 29, 2026 @CBSSports the UCL game's audio is like 5+ seconds ahead of the video. this is unacceptable stuff in a game of this magnitude
The specific cause of the audio syncing issues during the CBS broadcast has not been confirmed, but it has been a persistent problem throughout the Champions League season.
The audio sync problem lasted for the entire first half of the UEFA Champions League semifinal match between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal.
Viewers expressed their frustration on social media, noting that the audio was significantly out of sync with the video, with some reporting delays of up to five seconds.
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— tooforwon (@tooforwon241) April 29, 2026 Yo CBS the announcer audio is way ahead of the gameplay.
— Nolan Clay (@nolanclay10) April 29, 2026 It's actually inexcusable that this keeps happening with CBS. *This article originally appeared on For The Win: CBS had persistent audio issues during Champions League broadcast*