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Manly’s win over the Panthers was brilliant game full of attacking footy, with a nail-biting finish in front of a big crowd on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
The coverage was great, the commentating spot on, and the atmosphere was well captured.
But the excitement came over an hour after the frantic and brilliant finish. Most of the footballing community knew the result, which sucked the energy out of the moment.
Surely, in 2014, this is no longer acceptable.
My friend in Auckland watched the game live from over 2000 kilometres away. Those watching from Jakarta were lucky enough to see the last-minute win in real time.
Meanwhile, those of us in Australia are forced to watch delayed, standard definition, ad-filled coverage.
As a fan, I don’t dare get dare get caught up in post-match excitement, as we are whisked away just moments after the final whistle to the news. Forget the celebrations by fans, players and officials.
We, as fans, have also had to get use to being taken to an ad break after tries across Nine’s weekend coverage.
Instead of showing the emotion of a four-pointer, we are treated to an ad, or reminded that Big Brother is once again going to pollute our television screens.
All this would be fine if Ray Warren, the best league commentator of the modern era, was not forced to talk over live play, to plug the romance between Sheldon and Amy on the upcoming Big Bang Theory.
I’m still yet to see actors from the Big Bang break from script to plug the Thursday Night blockbuster between the Roosters and the Bunnies.
Meanwhile, over on 7mate, AFL fans are treated to a full pre-show, live coverage, and a wrap-up show. The Saturday night program kicks off at 6:30, an hour before bounce, and wraps up more than half an hour after the game concludes.
We league fans sit and wait after turning off all contact with the outside world to avoid hearing the result, to watch a delayed game, full of plugs for reality television during live play, before being taken to the news less than a minute after the final whistle.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the coverage. I love listening to Rabs and co. call big games in the bright sunshine on a Sunday afternoon. But I am not a fan of the sun being down before the game has concluded on my set.
It is time the Sunday afternoon game is shown live from 3pm, or the fixture kick-off time is moved to 4pm to suit coverage. Please note that I said 4pm, not five past four, not quarter to five, 4pm on the dot. If this is a problem, I’m sure starting the coverage at three minutes to will not be a huge problem.
I fully understand Nine paid big money to secure the rights, and should reap the benefits. What I don’t understand is the fact they are shooting themselves in the foot by delaying coverage when literally anyone in the world can watch the game live online, or hear it called live on the radio.
Fans would be more than happy to endure a further five minutes of ads during an extended halftime to compensate for lost ad-time by showing the game live.
You’d be surprised what people are willing to endure to avoid delayed-coverage games while people on the other side of the world watch live.
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