How Channel Seven's coverage of the Australian Open could be improved

For over 40 years, Channel Seven have done an impressive job in bringing the Australian Open to our television screens, and very importantly, to free-to-air viewers, but the network needs to improve its Open coverage significantly in the near future if it is to win over more fans.

Throughout the tournament we have been treated to some of the most thrilling, epic and painfully one-sided contests that Seven has served its viewers, and more of the same can be expected as the tournament draws to its close.

But there are also some matches that not just free-to-air viewers, or fans who have a favourite player in particular, are missing out on that are worth viewing.

Viewers watching the station’s Australian Open coverage will have noticed, particularly in the first week, that matches involving Australian players are being given top priority over bigger matches that might be played on Rod Laver Arena or Hisense Arena simultaneously.

Also, when Seven promote marquee match-ups for its night coverage, sometimes the reality is that we never actually get to watch these matches, and settle for a second-rate or a late match instead.

This in part has been attributed to matches delayed due to poor weather, or day session matches outside of Rod Laver Arena that unexpectedly run overtime, which is understandably beyond Seven’s control.

As an example, consider Jordan Thompson’s first round match against Jerzy Janowicz, which the Australian wildcard lost in five sets after claiming the opening two sets.

The unexpected length of that first round match meant that it overlapped into 7:00pm, which is when the night session officially starts on Rod Laver Arena (given all of the earlier matches on the main Centre Court have finished before then).

On average, a straight sets victory in a Grand Slam men’s singles match ranges from an-hour-and-a-half to about two hours. The same time it also takes for Bernard Tomic to tank a match.

That night, Seven promoted Novak Djokovic’s match against Lukas Lacko as its feature match, but once the station had returned from its hour of news and current affairs, it had to show the remainder of the Thompson-Janowicz match, meaning most viewers missed over half of the Djokovic-Lacko match.

But what they did show that night was Ashleigh Barty’s match against Serena Williams, as promised by the station. Needless to say, Barty was badly outclassed by the world number one in around one hour.

These days, one hour is the average time it takes for Williams to defeat anyone, ranging from a qualifier to even Maria Sharapova.

At that rate, it would take around seven hours for her to win a Grand Slam title. Williams won Wimbledon in 2009 playing for less than ten hours, well less than the time it took for John Isner and Nicolas Mahut to play that marathon five-setter at Wimbledon in 2010.

On Wednesday night, Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter got together for the doubles, but their match against Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen on Hisense Arena finished late that it partially overlapped into the commencement of Samantha Stosur’s second round singles match against Tsvetana Pironkova on Rod Laver Arena.

As the failed Hewitt/Rafter experiment neared its failed solution, Seven switched to the Stosur-Pironkova match which was to start on RLA, angering its viewers who had been keen to see Rafter back in competitive action more than a decade since his retirement.

Eventually, the doubles match was replayed on television, but so late after Matthew Ebden and Vasek Pospisil played out a dramatic four-setter following Stosur’s win over Pironkova.

And on Thursday, Seven promoted Nick Kyrgios and Andy Murray as its feature figures for the night session, but due to the heatwave which caused the suspension of play on all outdoor courts, we only got treated to Kyrgios’ match against Benoit Paire, while never getting to see Murray at all.

Again, needless to say, Murray was a straight sets victor over Vincent Millot.

Earlier, we were treated to Gael Monfils and his bag of tricks against American upstart Jack Sock, in a match Seven didn’t even promote for that night.

But the station had to fill its coverage with some live action, as the daytime match between Sloane Stephens and Alja Tomljanovic, which preceded the Kyrgios-Paire showdown on Margaret Court Arena, was suspended due to the weather.

Monfils and Sock played under the closed roof of Hisense Arena as Stephens and Tomljanovic waited for the weather to clear before being able to resume.

Once they did resume, their match finished very late and as a result the first ball between Kyrgios and Paire was not struck until just after 10:00pm, three hours after their match was supposed to have started.

It’s during these extreme weather conditions in which play can only continue on Rod Laver Arena and Hisense under the closed roof.

Murray played second on RLA after Victoria Azarenka that night session.

Speaking of Azarenka, the two-time defending champion was snubbed by Channel Seven until the fourth round, where she faced Stephens in a rematch of last year’s controversial semi-final.

Her third round match against Yvonne Meusberger, which she won 6-1, 6-0, was overlooked in favour of a third round men’s showdown between French favourites Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon, during which we were treated to some great commentary from Henri Leconte.

That same night, Rafael Nadal and Gael Monfils fought out an entertaining match on Rod Laver Arena, won 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 by the Spaniard. That’s two men’s matches that viewers were treated to.

It’s a strong example of disrespect shown by the free-to-air station towards the dual women’s defending champion, who is a very popular figure among fans and whose boyfriend Redfoo is a judge on “The X Factor”, which also airs on Seven.

It was only during the second week in which the network would get its act together, as more higher-profile matches were shown on the network as the tournament entered its second week.

Sunday’s day session, which featured Ana Ivanovic’s upset victory over Serena Williams on Rod Laver Arena, drew a nationwide television audience of over 473,000 as news of the unexpected result sent shockwaves around the planet.

As sunset neared, Casey Dellacqua remained as our only singles hope in either the men’s or women’s. Her match against Eugenie Bouchard, scheduled for the night session, drew 733,000 viewers nationwide.

Seven’s debacle in showing local players at the expense of world-class players is comparable to its AFL coverage, whereby local teams are always televised live into their respective states, even if the telecast is originated from Fox Footy.

Matches involving the Brisbane Lions, for example, must always be televised live into Queensland, regardless of their opposition; likewise, NSW viewers are guaranteed every Sydney Swans match live.

As such, a local derby could be telecast in place of a top-of-the-table clash, which could also get some free-to-air exposure, albeit delayed or never shown at all.

Such that, in mid-2009, Sydney and Brisbane viewers were shown a match between the Sydney Swans and North Melbourne, while the rest of the country was shown the blockbuster showdown between Geelong and St Kilda, two teams who had yet to be beaten to this point. That match was eventually replayed in those two markets, but viewers had to wait until late at night for it.

Because Sydney and Brisbane receive the AFL on 7mate, and when their local teams are being televised, there is no chance of them seeing the match they could have received in Victoria live elsewhere except Fox Footy.

Back on topic now, and yes, the state of Australian tennis is struggling at the moment (there are currently no Australians in either the top ten of the men’s or women’s singles rankings), but does that mean we have to see the next generation develop at the expense of watching players like Djokovic, Nadal or Federer?

And so, after all those matches that we missed due to Seven wanting to show more Aussies than top players, what does the station need to do to treat its viewers and fans equally?

A good solution is that the network could use their two sister stations, 7Two and 7mate, to broadcast matches specifically to target audiences, while matches involving Bernard Tomic, Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt, as well as some other top players, are played out on the main channel.

Tomic, Stosur and Hewitt are always guaranteed a match on Rod Laver Arena, given their high profiles in the game, and in the case of Tomic, his excellence in performing on home soil.

There are others as well, such as rising stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, both touted for big things in the future.

Kyrgios played his first round match against Germany’s Benjamin Becker as Lleyton Hewitt was thrown into battle against Andreas Seppi, while Kokkinakis’ match against Igor Sijsling was played parallel to Bernard Tomic’s controversial first round retirement-enforced loss to Rafael Nadal.

Kokkinakis eventually got his moment in the sun, when he took eight games off Nadal in their second round clash on Rod Laver Arena.

Already, 7Two has, since 2011, been used to roll over the coverage when the main station breaks off for the news. This initiative was launched in response to the backlash aimed at Seven for switching to the news during a match between Serena Williams and Samantha Stosur in 2010.

Likewise, GEM rolls over the cricket when Nine breaks off for the news as well.

7mate was used this year to televise the Hopman Cup after Channel Ten/One relinquished the broadcasting rights at the end of last year.

While matches are being played on Rod Laver Arena, or featuring an Australian player, 7Two could be used to televise a women’s match, or a match on Hisense Arena, and 7mate can be used to televise some men’s matches exclusively.

This is the formula that could be used between the three stations:
* Seven: all matches on Rod Laver Arena and/or those involving Australia’s big names of Bernard Tomic, Samantha Stosur and/or Lleyton Hewitt
* 7Two: matches on Hisense Arena, feature women’s matches outside RLA and/or those involving lesser known Australian women such as Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua
* 7mate: feature men’s matches outside RLA, and/or those involving the next generation of Australian men such as Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

As has already been mentioned, matches involving Tomic, Stosur and Hewitt are always guaranteed to be played on Rod Laver Arena, and thus cannot clash, while lower-profile names and rising stars such as Barty, Dellacqua, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis will get their time, and whenever possible should not clash with matches involving the big three.

So, all in all, it’ll be a victory for the viewers, who can get to watch either their favourite player, a top player or an Australian in action without having to wait until the late night for a replay or having to buy Foxtel.

That said, not everyone has Foxtel or can afford it, though Fox Sports does televise some matches on outdoor courts as, for the most part, they are not allowed to televise matches involving Australians on Rod Laver Arena.

In the same manner, Seven could not televise some matches involving Serena Williams at Wimbledon in the last few years due to what commentator Todd Woodbridge explained as being “due to contractual obligations”.

The three-station formula would dissolve by the time the quarter-finals in both the men’s and women’s draws kick off, as by then there will be less singles matches and hardly any clashes as the tournament winds down.

In this case, Seven would regain the full broadcasting rights to the singles matches, but 7Two and 7mate could still be used to broadcast doubles and junior matches that might be of good interest.

Another way to improve Seven’s coverage is if they re-introduce the “Hot Shots” segment, which proved to be popular before it was removed a few years ago, or something similar to “The Best Stuff” which is featured on the AFL coverage.

A news journalist, similar to Mark Stevens for the AFL coverage, could also be hired to analyse matches and report on any injuries once play for the day is over, so that viewers are kept up-to-date with what is happening during the tournament.

And thus, the utilisation of Seven’s main channel, and its two sister stations, will ensure that fans can watch what they want without having to buy Foxtel or wait for an update of the scores during the telecast.

Hopefully, the days of having to wait for a replay of your favourite player or check live scores on the app or Internet should be over soon, if Seven finally gets its act together and utilises its three channels to spread its Australian Open coverage across Australian players and world-class players.