Opinion
Thursday night I was in the middle of a gruelling evening shift, one that was going slower than usual. However, the wonders of internet saved me from boredom, as I got to witness the of the most exciting football matches I’ve seen in sometime.
It wasn’t A-League or a meaningless pre-season friendly, it was what’s quickly becoming my favourite sports tournaments, the Australia Cup.
Broadmeadow Magic gave Melbourne heavyweights Bentleigh Greens a run for their money as they went down 2-1 in extra-time. But other than the exciting football being displayed, Channel 10 and by extension Paramount Plus ran a tight ship that the best in sports broadcasting we have seen since they bought the footballing license.
The around the ground’s updates, the commentary and the fluent, uninterrupted stream shows just how good Channel 10 could be for the upcoming season.
Ben Homer in what could be described as a football fans paradise with multiple screens being up to date with all the action was brilliant with Brosque and Ulrich providing some great insights into the historical competition.
With all we went through in terms of teething problems, such as slow streaming, advertisements in key moments and major technical difficulties at the grounds last season it seems that the newbies of sports broadcasting have got their act together, and just in time.
Channel 10 and Paramount CBS needed to demonstrate how football broadcasting could work in the future. I cannot remember Fox Sports delivering such features, at least not in the latter stages of its football broadcasting deal.
I hope these are signs of what’s to come as Sokkah (and yes this is the true Australian pronunciation) needs a lift not just in commercial and media presence but in quality in terms of at home viewing.
Perhaps televising early NPL games before the primetime A-League Saturday night match could build a culture of football viewership for families in Oz. For now, I will admire the steps that Channel 10 have taken in the off-season to ensure their product is now error free and let’s hope it stays that way.
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