Good Friday felt more like mediocre Friday, because I couldn’t watch the Rabbitohs play the Bulldogs live.
I’m more of a rugby fan, but I’m not insular, and I do enjoy watching the occasional big game of league.
Friday afternoon’s clash fit the bill perfectly: a grand final rematch on Good Friday – all the billings of a cracking game.
But I didn’t watch it. I refuse to watch a game punctuated by regular intervals of advertisements (most of them being for moronic reality television shows). In effect Channel Nine, you’ve lost a viewer.
My big question however is not directed at Channel Nine, but rather at the NRL. Why go for the money?
In business, money is used to invest in your product, and make it stronger. Playing to Channel Nine’s demands for delayed broadcasts is destroying value. A delayed broadcast is significantly less engrossing than a live one. You need only read the columns of social media to see the disappointment that is directed at Nine for its delayed broadcasts.
With this in mind, I would like to see Australia’s leading codes have a different key performance indicator when it comes to television deals. Instead of trumpeting about who gets the most money, codes should be trumpeting who gets the most live games, with the most professional coverage, with the best chance of building the game.
Business and sport are a dangerous mix. It’s easy to liquidate the fan-base and sell it off for all it’s worth, but what does that do in the long run? Being bullied by a broadcaster makes me apprehensive about tuning in.
It’s high time we add further legislation to protect sports consumers. It would be easy to add legislation for maximum length of ad breaks during sport, regardless of whether it’s live or not.
Making Nine liable for excessive ad breaks would be a fantastic move for the fans.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Parramatta have dropped a bombshell by sacking Brad Arthur, effective immediately. The club issued a statement on Monday afternoon: "It was the view of…
Cameron Munster will miss the entirety of State of Origin after it as confirmed that the five eighth will miss at least ten weeks…
NRL signings, contracts and rosters for the 2024 season and beyond.
The Tigers have been slammed by the Match Review Panel with both Justin Olam and Brent Naden set to be banned following their sin…
Magic Round delivered big time. Some smart-alec columnists - can't think who - suggested that it might be an injury-riddled series of blowouts, but…
The Fox League commentator was taken to a rooftop restaurant with a difference - and as you can expect, there was plenty of swearing!
