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Media Watch slaps Nine over Rugby World Cup

Last night's Media Watch decided to go into bat for viewers unhappy with Nine's coverage of the Rugby World Cup.

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Last night’s Media Watch decided to go into bat for viewers unhappy with Nine’s coverage of the Rugby World Cup.

It would come as no surprise to readers of this site, that Nine’s programming of the matches, and it’s capacity to inform the audience of programming has been less than forthcoming.

Host Jonathan Holmes said a promo plugging ‘live coverage’ in Sydney on September 17 was “a straight-out untruth.”

“Kick-off in the crucial Wallabies-Ireland match was at 6.30pm Australian eastern time. It wasn’t shown in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania until just after 9 – not ‘live’ but two and a half hours late. In Victoria, and South Australia, the game was delayed until 11.30,” he said.

“At least, in those states, and in W.A., it was also shown live on Nine’s digital channel, GEM. But not in Queensland and New South Wales.

“No matter where you live, finding out what’s being shown when has been almost impossible.”

The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy said Nine asked for an exemption for coverage to be played on multichannels, to get around the issue of the event being on the anti-siphoning list. It was granted on September 14.

“This change to the anti-siphoning list allowed the Nine Network … to premiere coverage of eight matches … on the digital multichannel GEM,” a spokesperson said.

But it didn’t always take advantage of the exemption in all markets.

“Why Nine left it so late, we don’t know. Nor why they hardly ever told viewers on Nine what matches were showing live on GEM,” said Holmes.

For the most part coverage in Melbourne, and WIN-owned Adelaide and Perth stations has been live on GEM. TV Tonight has received Press Releases on various matches on Fridays -but no Amendments.

In Sydney and Brisbane, where the appeal of the sport is arguably higher, on many occasions viewers were forced to wait until NRL games had ended on Nine to watch delayed games.

For Media Watch to be slapping Nine over programming of sport is indicative of how endemic these problems are and how frustrated the audience has become.

26 Responses

  1. I agree with Pete. Ch 9 are the worst television network in this country. They no longer have stability in their programming, nor any morals. I really wish them all the worst in the future. I hope they somehow go broke. Same with Ch 10 with their treatment of the NBL.

  2. I hope seven gain the rights for NRL. I don’t want Ten to because they will put it on One HD or something that not everyone has easy access to. I hope Nine and Ten do not have the rights for NRL from 2013.

  3. Nine acquired the rights with Fox Sports at the time when Ten were active in gaining content for One. So Fox did a joint bid with Nine to take ten out of the race. Nine and Fox also have the rights for 2015.

  4. Have 9 updated anyone about how they will now show the Rugby League test on Sunday?

    Sunday’s rugby league Test between Australia and New Zealand will be broadcast Live nationwide on Nine from 3.30pm AEDT

    facebook.com/wideworldofsports

  6. THis comes as no surprise to me. Nine was always going to treat rugby like this. Maybe when they loose the League rights they will have a reason to treat Rugby better. Still a fare while since we find out who will hold the League rights for the next five years. All i can say is ARU the next time the Rugby rights come up for grabs give it to Network Ten or dont bother having it on FTA.

  7. I really don’t get why someone with obviously no interest in rugby would bother to comment here, but your time is yours to waste deedeedragons.
    I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the tv guide and saw the NZ-argentina game was live, but they didn’t even mention it would be at the end of the wallabies broadcast! It seemed really strange that nine placed that much importance on their main channel winning than help gem along…

  10. For a company that is in a business where effective communication is paramount, the Nine Network have been the “home of laughable”. Leaving aside their abysmal treatment of this major sporting event, when they do decide to show it live on GEM, why is the decision made so late and why don’t they actually let people know? It wouldn’t have anything to do with not wanting to weaken the NRL brand would it?

    Absolutely appalling. Damn shame Ten didn’t get it. They’ve made some bewildering decisions regarding programming on their main channel lately but they prob would have treated the RWC with the respect it deserves.

  11. It was about time someone got onto the case about channel 9 and their coverage. Good call Phoenix727 on how it should have been handled by 9. Typical arrogance by 9 didn’t bother to respond to MWs questions on their coverage.

    9 are by far the worst network in Australia since Kerry Packer is no longer with us. They are the home of spruiking betting in comparsion to the other networks with their sports coverage. For the NRL fans that was a disgrace with the anti pokie script that had to be read by Ray Warren. 9 must have paid peanuts for it as their production costs appear to be minimal. All they ned to do is pay Gregan to rock up to the studio to discuss the game before, at half time and afterwards and pay Tim S his travel costs to NZ!

  13. Even Seven were better than this. Not in the southern states but we always got Live coverage or very close to but not 2.5hrs later. That is a joke. Nine’s coverage of sports is pathetic. The Horse Racing coverage has been very average, the rugby league has been even more pathetic because every 5 minutes its all about either a show on Nine or TAB Sportsbet or Keno. Nine need to be stripped of all sports coverage because they do it so poorly.

    The RWC coverage i have been watching is FOX Sports. Its been very very good.

  14. deedeedragons – if you dont like the sport, dont watch, but please spare us you inane and clearly uninformed opinions. just stick to watching these simple sports you know and love best (tic-tac-toe perhaps?).
    Anyone who watched the QF games at the weekend (all 4 of them) can appreciate the skill and quality of the players. and the effort from Aus to bear SA the way they did was simply extraordinary. Roll on the SF’s!

  16. Have signed up for Foxtel for two week, very happy so I do not have to worry about Nien’s atrocious (what I’d expect) coverage of the Olympics next year.

  17. Nine’s been copping a hiding from MW lately… I love MW. It always makes my laugh at stupidity. Not that they make these mistakes, but that they try to duck and cover when they are pulled up on it.

    As for why they would do it?!? I’m only postulating, but perhaps it has something to do with not diluting the Primetime share of their Primary channel in two key markets… A case of ‘Don’t give them the choice and they will watch both’ maybe?

  18. A good example of what happens when private equity buys into a business it knows nothing about. Instead of a wholesale replacement of senior management it limps along as its asset slowly diminishes. If they can’t fix it now perhaps they’re better off to cut their losses and sell to someone who can. Nine’s contempt for its audience can’t get any worse than the Rugby World Cup example.

  20. That’s why you spend a bit of money and get Foxtel as they have every match live on a dedicated channel. Easy to track, reliable and every match is shown live and in HD. Problem solvered.

  22. Well done MW, ch9s coverage of the RWC should give an indication of how bad their Olympic efforts will be next year. There needs to be a wholesale clearout of the fools attempting to run that station and bring in some folk with vision, planning and foresight. Most bloggers on here could do way better then the current mob.

  23. Frankly… I could program the World Cup better than Nine is and I Hate Rugby, League or Union.

    When you have a commodity like this that is capable of putting asses in chairs you sell the tits off it. With something like this where the potential for making money out of sponsors is so high it beggers belief Nine aren’t broadcasting every match and using the full range of their digital channels to broadcast it.

    If it were my channel I would put the none Wallibies Matches on Go and Gem and show all Australia matches live both in HD on Gem and in Prime Time on Nine whether they’re live or not. (Airing them live in the afternoon for those who want to watch anyway.) And trumpet it every way I could TV ad, billboards, sky writers I’d have someone go to the bloody moon a light up sign from there if I had too.

    This would never have happened when Kerry Packer was running the place. He actually new the value of having sport on his TV Channel.

    Hey! Whoever own’s Nine, sack the bloody lot of em.

  24. Thanks for that, missed MW last night but will catch up online later today.

    It just makes you wonder how much ‘live’ sport is not actually live in this country, and with the growth of online sites like twitter it’s all but impossible to not be spoiled for a result if they delay their broadcast of sport on TV. And even harder to hide the truth. Is there anything the ACCC or whoever can do about it?

    With GEM and the like there is no reason sport like this can’t be live across the country, but would Nine advertise the fact on their main channel in the fear of loosing viewers from it’s other shows?

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