Nine’s winning Ashes campaign
One of the many fine things about the Australian summer was enjoying the constant TV backdrop of The Ashes.
Now that it’s finally over, a bit of credit where it’s due: it felt to me that this time round series broadcaster Nine raised its game.
Not so much technically which has always been fine but in terms of showing a bit more respect to viewers.
There was more sticking with the match rather than cutting away early to the more commercially lucrative 6pm news.
This morning, they even broke away half way through a CommBank commercial to return to the action after the bowling continued a few seconds earlier than expected.
And some of the supporting content was excellent. In particular, the music-based highlights packages.
It may not have been a good series for Australia, but it was for Nine.
Tim Burrowes
Linkedin
I wonder if Vodafone feel the same way about the “success” of the Ashes
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Loved that they stuck with the cricket more than usual than going to the news. Shame the ads are still irritating 😉 So over the AAMI ads.
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ratings?
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The subtle change to the session times would have helped too. The start at 10 instead of 10:30 means the day’s play was wrapped up by 5. 5:30 if there was a slow over rate. Well played England.
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Still a shame some of the broadcasts of the live cricket were cut short for the news. I don’t know any other country that would even consider cutting a big live sport fixture to go to a news show?! Surprising given how popular sport is in Australia.
An improvement – but still could be better with 100% coverage over other shows
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‘Welcome back to the cricket, here’s the latest
Betfair odds’. Kids watching the cricket are they viewers or
future gamblers?
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Rasied its game? Maybe with the sound off…
Give me the ABC radio commentary any day!
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If I see the AAMI or G.O.R.D ad one more time…
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“So warnie whose the guest on your show tonight”
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Sorry Tim really have to disagree here, there was plenty of cutting away for the news both in Sydney and around the country, a disgrace as always..
And the the promise from Nine that when they turned the HD channel into GEM it would also show live sport which was broken. Pains me to see some old black and white 4:3 TV show being shown on the HD channel while the cricket is in crappy SD. While over in the UK live HD coverage is on Sky Sports…
Surely backward for a sports loving country.
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Channel 9’s cricket coverage is a disgrace – it’s commentary is simply a continuation of the commercials; they cut off from the closing ceremony to go to a repeat of Gilligan’s Island, Warnie is given a opportunity to discuss Advanced Hair studios (whilst commentating) and those stupid things he and Bollinger wear on their heads, KFC classic catches, Vodaphone tea break – it’s an absolute joke and this selling out of cricket in Australia is a major part of its current demise.
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yes have to disagree, in the early tests Nine had no qualms about airing the so called news rather than the cricket, and to promise the game in HD when they knew the anti siphoning regulations didnt permit it is just ridiculous. Fail all round, I ended up listening to it on the radio like it was the 1950’s..
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Agree and disagree, tim.
the montage editing was superb, but the music selection indicated that no one at nine had bought a new piece of music since 1998. The lack of HD was unforgivable. And the commentary was (by and large) terrible: with the exception of Taylor, Slater, Warne and Greig (as well as Adam Gilchrist in the Perth test), the entire comm team should be dropped. Benaud is a little past it, and Ian Healy is the single worst commentator of any sport, ever. Plus i agree with everyone else who complained about the constant in-match advertising (and the repetitive AAMI/G.O.R.D ads during the breaks)
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Tim, have to disagree i thought nine could have really done better in the commentary box. Ian Healy is a shocker! Tony Greig is as one eyed as they come, Bill Lawry is a keeper along with Warnie! Chappell, Taylor and Benaud its time to move on and let Gilly and co take the microphone.
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I thought Nine’s Ashes coverage was worse than ever. Like many viewers, I rely on the ABC radio commentary, but when the ghastly Kerry O’Keeffe was on duty I had to switch to the Nine commentators who are as bad as ever _ with one or two distinguished exceptions. .
Much of the coverage was more like a continuous commercial than a sport broadcast. A separate issue is why Australian TV commercials are so dreadful . . . the AAMI one must have cost a lot of money but it’s like something out of the 1970s.
As for montages, they are a favourite cliche of TV producers everywhere but they make painful viewing.
Have a look at Sky’s coverage of England’s home Tests against India this year to see how good TV cricket broadcasts can be.
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Considering cricket is on the anti-siphoning list—Nine should not be allowed to cut to the news if it wants to retain the broadcasting rights—this was unforgivable at 6pm in some of the most interesting tests— as was the constant cuts to ads instead of replays. I switched on in shock to see Australia was 3/2 after two overs and had to wait more than an hour to see what the hell had happened—- but saw at least 12 ads in that time. the over-commercialisation leaves a bad taste. What about some simple cricket without the endless sales pitch from commentators and overlays—broadcasters and advertisers have to understand this turns viewers off the products. As for Vodafone’s ads—–they were fairly ironic given the Australian’s performance and as they coincided with a backlash against vodafone’s appalling customer service and coverage.
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I genuinely couldn’t believe it when they cut to the news at 6pm in the early tests, I nearly dropped my beer in the pub! The only half hour of play I could squeeze in the working day too.
As for the music being out of date – Scribble by Underworld had a good airing, among quite a few more contemporary tracks, so not true on that.
The funny thing about HD is that it was all filmed on HD equipment, the same stream sent back to the UK to watch in HD on Sky, so rather frustrating,
As for cutting from the sad excuse for a presentation ceremony to show Gilligan’s Island… Bad losers, much? The whole ceremony was a shambles, Cook didn’t get his man of the series medal, Michael Vaughan presented the urn (it’s traditionally the opposing captain), I could go on, but I’d be accused of being a whinging Pom.
Given that most of the games didn’t go the distance, they needed to cram the advertising in where they could, I suppose – Mitchell Johnson’s Gatorade ones being a particular favourite of mine.
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