A couple of weeks ago I was informed that Channel Nine had secured rights to the ‘big games’ of the 2012 and 2014 Twenty20 World Cup and the 2015 ICC World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
Ha! I knew what this meant. And my suspicions were confirmed when Australia was due to meet Ireland in their opening game of the T20 tournament in Sri Lanka.
Big game to Nine means that they might, possibly, if they’re feeling extremely nice, show half the match, probably after it’s finished, presumably sometime after midnight.
Lo and behold, it’s in the TV guide on Nine at… midnight! And live on Foxtel at… 8pm! What a surprise!
At least the Windies game later in the week appeared to have been a live one. At midnight.
When a network – albeit one close to bankruptcy according to metro media reports – has three, count ’em, three channels to put things on, why is there still this inability to put sports fans first?
Nine used to be the pinnacle of cricketing coverage. Now it’s a shell of its former self.
Can anyone, anywhere, ever imagine SBS making the following equivalent announcement? SBS has the rights to the big games in the 2015 Asian Cup. Meaning they would screen the Socceroos’ group-stage matches live, then maybe more if they progress.
Aside from that, you might get two of the four quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final. Possibly delayed? By at least an hour? Never. Never, I say!
It just wouldn’t wash with football fans, so why does Nine keep treating its cricket nuts in similar fashion?
SBS will no doubt show the majority of the Asian Cup games live whenever possible, and won’t skimp on games involving Outer Mongolia v Micronesia just because a Nordic crime drama might pull a better audience on a midweek evening.
I know there will be the usual replies from fellow Roarers who will simply say, “buy Foxtel”. But that shouldn’t be the case. Nine was impressive enough earlier this year to screen the England-Australia one-dayers live. From England. See, it can’t be that hard, guys!
Please, please, please get your televisual act together by January 2015. I do not want a small-mind mentality applied to big games when the next ICC World Cup rolls into town. It’s a World Cup. Get it?
World. Cup. Where every game is a big game to someone.
Bee Bee
Guest
The vested interest goes way beyond sport. FTA is becoming so bad its a joke. Seriously, its hard to find a decent show at all. BIG BROTHER (you can't be serious!!!). Is head office run by monkeys on typewriters. People keep saying if its so bad why not purchase Pay TV. Hellooooo, thats what they want you to do. Don't pander to these corporate meglomaniacs. They think we are all stupid. Switch off and they become powerless. ABC/SBS and the Roar. Thats all I need.
@mo_mackie
Guest
Dude they only played the ODI England Vs Australia Live as it was at the start of the Olympics, they where trying to get viewers away from 7.
peeeko
Roar Guru
i am no fan of channel 9 but i think the problem lies with the administrators that sell the rights to channel 9. not everyone is a sports nut like us roarers and channel 9 will always show what is in their shareholders best interest, that is ,shows that the most people will watch and quite often it is not sport that rates best. .Sports adminiistrators need to not put channel 9 be put in this position . channel 9 is not there to please sports lovers and if you love sport so much just get foxtel.
daniel
Guest
There actually is quite a vested interest for the owners of Both the Seven Network and the Nine Network for Foxtel to be a success. Between these two companies they have 67% of the shares of consolidated press holdings(CMH) The Seven Network owns 22% of and the owners of the nine network owns 45%. CMH in turn owns a 25% of Foxtel and 50% of Fox Sports Australia. There is also a conflict at Channel 10 as the Packer and Murdoch families according to news reports both own 9% of network. As you can see the three Commercial do have an interest in ensuring the best sport and programs will end up on pay tv to boost subscriptions.
josh
Guest
I don't think Nine have a huge vested interest in Foxtel. And i don't believe that is the issue. The issue seems to be profit at all costs, given Nine's current drama, its not working very well.
HardcorePrawn
Roar Guru
I feel for you Ben, I wrote a similar article a couple of weeks ago about Nine's treatment of the Rugby Championship. It's much the same as your experience with the Cricket, the way Nine treat all of their sports is nothing short of a disgrace. Why would a TV network with such a massive debt keep buying up the rights to sports only to not show them live and in their entirety? I reckon Brian has hit the nail on the head, they're doing it purely to advertise Foxtel.
Brian
Guest
I didn't even know it was on nine. The issue is one of co-ownership between Nine & Foxsports. I doubt anyone at 9 thinks the cricket would not ourate the latest infomercial on channel 94 or whatever it is. However Nine is trying to sell you Foxtel, this was the same with the Olympics, the Rugby Union, the Rugby League etc. The difference with SBS is that they don't have an interest in Fox Sports.