Social media slaps ABC over Asian Cup delays, spoilers.
Not even ABC is immune from delayed sport anger, giving viewers the results in News before the broadcast begins.
- Published by David Knox
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Even ABC is not immune from viewers unhappy about delays to live sport.
Friday night’s Asian Cup match between Australia and Kuwait aired at 10pm AEDT in Sydney and Melbourne, 2 hours after it had aired Live on FOX Sports. ABC’s broadcast deal includes a delayed broadcast, with the exception of Socceroos finals games.
It also aired at 8pm local time in other cities, including in Perth -3 hours after its actual Live staging. Despite having four channels, ABC neglected to air it in Perth simultaneously with Melbourne viewers, which could have shaved an hour off the time.
But viewers were incensed at the results being broadcast on ABC News, including in their opening titles, before the match had been broadcast. There were also results published on social media.
An ABC spokesperson told TV Tonight, “The match was reported on live on ABC News and also played live on ABC Radio. Obviously we would never restrict ABC News from reporting on news as it happens.
“On ABC TV it was broadcast on delay and we had a #socialmediablockout on the ABC TV social media channels. This was to encourage people not to post spoilers and this was monitored by a social media content manager.”
But ABC Radio, which was broadcasting Live was publishing live on social media.
On their Facebook page viewers vented at ABC:
Lachlan McKirdy: Coverage of the event is delayed, yet you still post the score to your Social media accounts?
Chris Sewell: Why the delayed telecast? And if you do delay the telecast why would you spoil it by posting the result before your own telecast has finished?
David Shaw: WHY ARE YOU POSTING SPOILERS! It’s still on your own free to air channel!
Paul Newton: Dear ABC. Please show all future Asian Cup games involving Australia LIVE!
Dame-Stephani Lauren: Thanks heaps ABC, flicking through FB at 1/2 time, I don’t expect to see the result. Bastards
Zoltan Szekely: This is bullshit! I thought it was live!!!
Gary Green: Good on you Aunty for the spoiler. Was happily watching the game till I saw this.
You delay the tele cast and the do this. Brainless
Angie Cook: Thanks for the spoiler alert – it’s only just started on ABC in Adelaide!!
Edie Moore: Thanks for nothing. You have just spoiled my enjoyment of this game by publishing the winning score before the delayed telecast is over. Spoilsport.
Malcolm Pitcher: Why DELAY the telecast? Disgraceful. You show the wLeague live.
Gen Galarce: Thank you ABC for nothing, you really are the party pooper, when it comes to “live telecast”???? “live broadcast on radio”???? Now more than ever, thank God for SBS.
Lauren Curry: Hopeless ABC. Totally spoiled my viewing evening.
On Twitter the fury was similar.
Corrected.
24 Responses
I already dropped a comment in the TV Lounge but it would seem that someone at ABC was listening. There was a clear spoiler warning before the sport section of their 7pm News (in WA). Good stuff.
I read a AFR article how the FFA are already considering their options for the next broadcast deal. The article says that they are keen on Seven or TEN gaining the rights next time and may even engineer an early end to the current deal partly because of the poor ratings on SBS which personally i don’t understand considering its the only Live game they have. Anyway if that does happen i think the FFA would be forgoing the rest of the money and taking a considerable gamble and it being on Commercial FTA is no guarantee the Network who gets it will treat it well BBL and NBL as examples.
one day cricket in Perth starts 11am finish 7pm but we use to Monday to Friday get the games 2pm and weekend live. Now channel 9 do cricket live every game.
So I am use to delayed sport but abc news could have give a warning about the soccer.
At least it was live on TV somewhere – that being Foxtel.
I have no problem with FTA delayed sports telecasts if it is the case where you have the option to watch live on Foxtel if you chose to or can afford to subscribe.
What I can’t stand is delayed telecasts where there is absolutely no legal option to watch live like NRL Sunday afternoons (which thankfully they have now committed to showing live). And of course Big Bash outside of AEDT.
You can’t blame FFA as it’s an AFC tournament and World Sports Group controls the broadcast deals.
At least it’s on FTA even delayed.
@Pertinax
To a sports fan there is a massive difference between live sport and delayed coverage. I cannot comprehend or understand your comment in regards to this.
When the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifying matches were broadcast live on ABC Radio and on delay on SBS there were next to no complaints. But yes the ABC could have handled the delay broadcast much better.
Nothing worse than a sports spoiler, but people only have themself to blame.
Some tips for those inexprienced delayed sports fans:
Don’t go on social media
Don’t watch the news
Don’t go on news websites
Watch some catch-up TV or a movie if you are waiting for the next game on ABC on Tuesday night.
There was a world before having to watch sport with twitter at the same time, so people should be able to go back to the dark ages every now and then if they want to watch “as live”.
The result should be broadcast in the News, though they should give people a spoiler warning for people who want to avoid it.
There is no way the ABC news and current affairs will compromise their news for football.
And no way they are going to spend $1.5m to poach the rights from SBS and not show the games on the main channel. 2 hours or 3 hours delay makes pretty much no difference.
People should be directing their anger at David Gallop and the FFA.
ABC is a disgrace for this coverage shown on delay. I gave up watching the AFC Asian Cup after the match was put on at 8PM. This was similar to the CWC11 when Nine showed the Australian cricket matches on delay and not in full.
Come on ABC – get your act together – not everyone has Foxtel.
To all those saying that if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t go on social media – fair call. But what do you say about the result being given in the first few seconds of the 7pm News without the courtesy of any warning? Do we in WA now not watch any television for the 3 hours before kickoff in case there’s a News Update?
On the daily pick I said that ABC would do this (they always do). That’s why I arranged to see it live despite not having Foxtel myself.
If SBS had had the delayed rights, they would have used SBS2 if they needed to avoid bumping a flagship program and, more importantly, would prob have warned viewers if they were going give the score in their news.
I won’t be watching any of the tournament on ABC.
Foxtel have the exclusive live rights to the Socceroos
@Secret Squirrel – don’t be too sure about that as there are fears that SBS will be stripped of the World Cups and A League due to the budget cuts.
@Craig – Aaron Noonan and Jack Perkins make a very good point about the V8 TV deal on Speedcafe. If you want to watch for example GWS v Melbourne then you got to have Foxtel if your want Essendon v C’Wood then it will be shown on FTA. The differences are that is that is a low grade race where there aren’t many spectators and the other will be a massive crowd. It wouldn’t be shown on FTA at all as it would be exclusive to Fox and the SuperSprint are slightly delayed by an hour. V8 TV deal is good in many ways
Story indicates broadcast deal includes delays.
Hat tip to Secret Squirrel for bringing story to my attention.
I’m sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I think ABC TV don’t have the rights to broadcast it live (Foxtel do). This isn’t ABC’s fault.
Neither is it ABC’s fault if people who don’t want to know the score visit Facebook, Twitter or other social media. Even if ABC’s own accounts don’t show it, friends can make or relink posts.
@maxxdude: It was notdelayed another hour in Queensland. It screened in Sydney at 10pm their time, and in Queensland at 9pm their time. WA was the only state where it wasn’t shown on ABC TV at the same time (and I assume for news commitments)
While i agree that abc should have shown the game in perth pn 2hr not 3. I cant blame them for anything else. They would have loved to show it live but their deal with fox does not alow them too. And for those complaing about the results being posted on social media the golden rule when watching delayed sports if keep of the internet. If you cant go without looking at facebook and twitter for 4hrs listen to the radio.
Nobody is asking ABC News to not report news. However, I would have thought that a warning to mute the channel and avert your eyes would be a simple courtesy to those who wish to view the following delayed broadcast. Instead the result was the first thing announced during the opening titles of the 7pm News in Perth.
ABC spoiling the results of sport on other networks is annoying and disrespectful. Spoiling sport on the same channel just beggars belief.
They also might wish to clarify what a “social media blackout” means since both Grandstand and ABC News posted the full time score on both Twitter and FB 2 hours before their broadcast (3 hrs for WA).
ABC used to do sport well. Not these days. Please let SBS have the next football that’s up for grabs.
I don’t have an issue with abc’s news service reporting the score. They are a news service after all but considering they did sign a silly deal to offer the initial games on delay a warning before reporting the scores would’ve been the smart thing to do.
Its 2015. Sport should always be live and football Australia and ABC deserve the criticism they are receiving for the delayed coverage.
“There’s no pleasing some people” (as Jesus said to the ex-leper).
If you don’t know the game was played 2 hours ago, why should anyone else go too far out of their way to protect you from spoilers? And if you do know, why are you reading spoiler central, social media?
Spoiler: ‘Rosebud’ was his sled.
And let’s never speak of this again (lest someone get spoilered…)
It’s not the ABC fault, the FFA made the stupid tv deal with Fox Sports to broadcast all Socceroo games exclusively live including broadcasting all Asian Cup matches exclusively live. No free-to-air broadcaster was expected to actually screen any games until a deal recently was made with the FFA and the ABC to show only live Socceroo matches from the Quarter Finals onwards. It’s an utter disgrace the FFA made the decision in the first place to give Pay Tv exclusive rights to an International Tournament we’re hosting. You wouldn’t see this with any other sport. Absolute joke.
The reality is Foxtel has the live rights, still waiting for this to drop with V8 fans when they turn into some rounds finding it’s only highlights and hours after it has aired on Foxtel.
Of course we are still on delay a further hour in Qld. When are FTA TV stations going to wake up to the notion that we are prepared to watch sport on digital channels if it means no delays.