Refunds will be given to both individual match buyers and subscribers after Watford’s Hive Live service suffered serious problems on Saturday.

Supporters who had paid to hear commentary or watch TV coverage of the game away at Middlesbrough took to social media and email during and after the match, complaining that they were unable to hear the audio clearly, and many lost the service totally for periods of the afternoon.

It’s not the first time that Hive Live – which also gives fans the chance to pay to watch live TV coverage of some games – has been affected by technical problems during the season.

However, the club have recognised the issues and are sending out refunds.

“We completely understand supporters’ frustrations about the recent poor experiences with our Hive Live club TV streaming service,” acknowledged Richard Walker, Watford FC’s Head of Communications & Media Relations.

“Refunds will be issued to both match buyers and monthly or seasonal subscribers following Saturday’s output problems. Refunds have also been offered previously this season whenever significant outages or issues have occurred.

“Like those paying for the service, we would much rather they were able to enjoy a problem-free video or audio experience.”

Watford will also be spending this week attempting to make sure the service is more robust for this weekend’s game away at Reading, and for the rest of the season.

“Frustratingly, the club is unavoidably at the mercy of a number of third-party suppliers to ensure a good quality streaming service, so we’ve reflected the frustrations of end-users in no uncertain terms – both this weekend and on previous occasions,” said Walker.

“Our content and production team are working this week with all relevant stakeholders to ensure we’ve got a product fit for service ready for this weekend’s game at Reading.”

The club has further confirmed it will communicate a service update to subscribers ahead of Saturday’s matchday – video coverage of which is available only to those with overseas IP addresses.

They have also told The Watford Observer that they will be sending a personal apology to all supporters who paid for the service on Saturday.