It was the most significant Australian Open match involving one of the nation’s women this year and half of the country did not get to see it play out.
While the Seven Network screens about 12 hours of the tournament each day, in the hour that mattered most for Australia’s Samantha Stosur, the broadcaster was occupied elsewhere in some states.
On the eve of Australia Day, the network preferred to stick with their regular 6pm news bulletin and Today Tonight rather than show Australia’s last woman remaining in singles take on world No.1 Serena Williams.
For viewers in Melbourne and Sydney, that meant they missed out on virtually the entire match, as Stosur lasted just more than an hour in her straight sets loss at the hands of an awesome Williams performance.
Viewers in Adelaide fared slightly better, getting to watch the first half, while in Brisbane and Perth, time differences meant fans could watch the whole match.
Today Tonight featured segments including tennis fashions and a local take on the questionable Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie marriage split.
Seven’s programming director Tim Worner said the network had received more than 100 calls from unhappy viewers, but stood by their decision.
“Seven News and Today Tonight viewers are there at 6pm each and every night of the year and we need to honour that commitment,” Worner said.
“At Seven we take the commitment to news and public affairs very seriously.”
He said while viewers who called in were frustrated, most were “understanding” once the decision was explained to them.
Tennis Australia was unhappy about the lack of coverage for the match, but chief executive Steve Wood gave a diplomatic public response, saying overall the network had been “tremendous”.
“We understand this is a very difficult decision that is not taken lightly and reflective of their commitment to the 6pm news,” Wood said.
“But obviously we would have preferred for the entire match to be shown live.”
Snapshot of day eight of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday:
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Li Na – the 16th seed sent US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki to the Melbourne Park exit gates with a shock 6-4 6-3 fourth-round victory.
KEY MOMENT: Nikolay Davydenko picked up the crucial break of serve in the sixth game of the final set to deny Spain’s Fernando Verdasco a courageous comeback victory.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m sorry guys, maybe next time, but Sam played really well and maybe now I’ll have a few more fans.” – Serena Williams apologises to Aussie fans for ousting Samantha Stosur.
STAT OF THE DAY: Na joined Zheng Jie in the last eight to give China two players in the quarter-finals at a grand slam for the first time ever.
TOURNAMENT SUMMARY: The Williams sisters are the only two left of the top six women’s seeds and on a semi-final collision course. Big guns Davydenko and Novak Djokovic rolled on in the men’s.
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