Rumour has it that the IRB, not to mention the NZRU, are gulping Prozac these days. They’d like to stage a RWC final with the same kind of lavish and ultra-professional production that the Super Bowl will enjoy, but they won’t have near enough money.
The NBC network are charging up to three million dollars for some of the 30-second spots on Sunday, and that kind of largesse allows it to do the job properly.
What’s properly?
To give you just a couple of stats, the TV trailer parked outside the stadium, in which the director and production crew work, will contain over one hundred monitor screens. And there are so many cameras, the director can isolate every single player on the field, and get reaction shots from seat number 336 in the purple section if he want to.
And he’ll have something like 40 positions for instant replays.
600 volunteers will be used for the pre-game and half-time shows, just to assemble the modular rolling units that make up the stages and lighting rigs. And the whole production will be broadcast to around 230 countries and territories.
When the NFL, the IOC and FIFA claim viewership measured in the billions, they are no doubt fudging the numbers a little, although those numbers are still immense.
But the IRB imfamously inflates its audience for the RWC.
In the past, it has made up in hyperbole for what it wasn’t able to produce. For 2011, they’ll have to figure a way to look big on a small budget. It’s entirely possible if they can come out of their funk and start hiring some bright thinkers now.
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