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Nine moves the boundary line on live World Cup

Fans of Rugby League aren't happy the World Cup isn't screening live to air.

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Channel Nine is under fire for not showing its World Cup matches live on Sunday. Nine’s telecast began at 8.30pm, but highlights of the opening ceremony pushed the kick-off back to 9.04pm – an hour after the game actually started.

But an official media release by the Nine Network on April 19, 2007: “Nine will televise games including the ‘Super Pool’ matches, semi-finals and final of the 10-team tournament commencing in Sydney on October 25. The Nine Network will televise nine of these live on Saturday and Sunday nights.”

Nine claimed that undertaking to show the games live was made by former CEO Eddie McGuire but they were no longer obligated as he had been replaced.

A senior Nine executive last night told The Daily Telegraph that an agreement by Nine to air the games live was made during Eddie McGuire’s reign as CEO. David Gyngell was now CEO and had simply negated McGuire’s decision.

“You can’t please all the people all the time. If you try, you just go nuts,” he said. “We couldn’t ditch the opening ceremony.”

This Sunday night a Kangaroos-England match will air on delay at 8.30pm – 30 minutes after kick-off. The problem is compounded for viewers already behind AEDT.

Rugby League International Federation chairman Colin Love explained to News Limited, “Channel Nine are our partners and they felt that by putting the game on at 8.30pm, they would not have to move 60 Minutes and it would deliver strong ratings.

“It also means that the telecast did not go up against the gate for the game.

“I’ll have a talk to [Nine boss] David Gyngell this week but that would have happened anyway. We would always review things after the first weekend but it worth remembering the game is on live all around the world and we have got a prime time spot in Australia.

The newspaper says Nine even tries to point the finger at McGuire for the issue, which is very perplexing given it’s the current management that has turned on its commitment, not the previous.

Source: Daily Telegraph, Rugby League Live

8 Responses

  1. So many problems are going to solved next year when the commercial free to air networks get their second SD channels up and running. All sporting and other live events can be broadcast on the second channel without interupting the regular programming. These channels should of been introducted years ago.

  2. barrett, “Here we see why the TV anti-siphoning laws should be abolished.If stations cannot show sport LIVE in it’s entirety then their should be no restrictions on other media from showing it.”
    All games are live on the interent at rlwc08.com

  4. It won’t start at 8.30 thats for sure….when was the last time 60 Minutes actually finished at 8.30?

    Here we see why the TV anti-siphoning laws should be abolished.If stations cannot show sport LIVE in it’s entirety then their should be no restrictions on other media from showing it.

    Also Nine why isn’t this in HD?

  5. Thankfully the situation will be a bit better for the next game, since they don’t have to show the Opening Ceremony and Welcome to Country Match highlights. But having to watch it delayed at all is ridiculous. It kills the sense of excitement when the whole thing is choppily edited together, especially when they go straight to the kickoff practically the moment the opening sequence ends.

    I’m actually more concerned with what they did on Saturday night with the England vs Kumuls match – they put it on at 9.30 after a crappy five-year-old movie, for God’s sake. And it was a great game, it would’ve been a fantastic advertisement for the RLWC had it been shown at a time when people were watching.

  6. Nine should move 60 Minutes to 6.30pm to allow for RLWC (Rugby League World Cup) to air at 7.30pm. In Queensland only, the league could be shown at 6.30pm followed by 60 Minutes. Simple.

  8. No surprise here.
    I, like many on this site, expressed my delight at Nine promising to show matches BUT we did mention how many would be LIVE or slotted into late night schedule.

    Nine, true to form just blended the truth or altered their words.
    Viewers mean nothing to Nine.

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