The coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by Channel 7 was unbelievably poor, and this was especially painful when they advertised the Australian men’s basketball team playing, and then decided at halftime to cut from it to go to the equestrian.
Now, I’m not disrespecting the sport at all.
It’s just that if I knew they were going to cut the basketball and have me waiting an hour to see the final parts of the fourth quarter, then I would have done something more productive than wait around and watch an hour of the equestrian.
Channel 7 consistently made the wrong choices over the length of the Games. This was just another in a long, long line of them.
SamM
Guest
Absolutely agree, the 7 coverage left a lot to be desired.. Understandably not every sport could be broadcast, however, the right balance needed to be found and wasn't. In my view, a match needs to be broadcast entirely without cutting to another sport halfway, as happened with a Kookaburra's Hockey game against Spain. Approximately 15 minutes into the match, the coverage turned to the Judo. When the coverage returned 20 minutes later, the score was 3-0 to Australia. After watching a replay of the goals, the coverage was then put to a 5 minute advertisement break, and upon return to the coverage, there was only 20 minutes of game-time remaining. This is but one example of the poor balance struck between variety and importance of coverage. Also, it is impossible to cater for everyone's individual tastes, however ultimately the coverage should aim to provide the best entertainment value possible to the viewer. One solution to this problem could be more sophisticated and updates use of the digital/high definition television options available. These could have been used to greater effect, with different sports broadcast on different digital or h/d channels which would no doubt have increased viewer satisfaction. To whoever broadcasts the London Games I give this advice: 1. Broadcast games in full 2. The first rule can be broken if another game involves Australia (i.e. Australian games take preference) 3. Use digital/hd technology efficiently and effectively to broadcast a wider variety of sports 4. Attempt (if possible) to only cut to advertisement breaks when there is pause in play or in break as having frequent cuts to advertisements disrupts the viewing experience. In some instances, I found myself hating the advertisements and they made me not want to associate with the advertised product. This perception was inflated as 7 broadcast them for at times 5 minutes in one block, notwithstanding repeating the same 20 or so advertisements over and over and over and over...
Netrug
Guest
I like baseball but did not gat to see a single innings. Thankfully, I saw some women's softball but think that was only because Australia was in it. Can't stand basketball but had it rammed down my throat continuously. To see just one part of a baseball wiith either Cuba or South Korea in action would have been lovely. Channel & was worful and spent most of trhe time on SBS where at least you could follow games and not just mindless snippets.
Rabbitz
Guest
Neil You are clearly a basketball fan. Be thankful you got see some of your chosen sport. A lot of other minor sport followers got see basically zero footage of their sports. Of some 300 plus events I would doubt the Seven network covered even 20%. I do agree the coverage was in general woeful and I am glad the Seven has been punted, but given the diversity of events it is not logical or possible to show complete matches, especially of team sports as they are usually longer in duration than individual sports. I would make one suggestion to channel Nine, forget the "magazine style" programming, it merely wastes time. Time that could be used to showcase a variety of sports and events.