Nine in social media storm over Olympics coverage

A Quote from Brad Hill the VP, Audience Development at AOL

“NBC’s customers are its advertisers. And whether or not NBC’s licensing bet pays off, old media plants a massive victory stake in the ground, pushing aside technology’s rightful role of connecting the world in shared moments, impervious to the sharpened sticks hurled by the digerati.

But honestly, is there a clear-cut right to NBC’s arguably wrong strategy? I’ve seen calls to boycott the TV coverage, but ratings for the first two prime-time sessions were through the roof. There is obviously a willing audience for The Phelps & Lochte Show, one that suffers no dissatisfaction from shunting aside badminton and skeet shooting. Jeff Jarvis wrote, “The problem for NBC as for other media is that it is trying to preserve old business models in a new reality.” Not trying, Jeff: succeeding. The old model still evidently works in large-event, must-watch scenarios.”

Wait… there are families in Australia who don’t subscribe to Foxtel? This is 2012 not 2000. Less complaining more spending.

@damad – very insightful. thanks for sharing mate

I upgraded my Foxtel package to include Sports for a month just so I could access the 8 channels. I got sick of watching shitty horses prance around. It’s worth the extra $16!

Swimming rates. It’s as simple as that.

Commercial television is not a community service.

Social media storm!

Mumbrella gets share buttons.

And the new Recommend gizmo over there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(Which overwrites content on my iPad – sorry)

Ah, another fascinating exercise in snake oil salesman’s social media analytics. I love the “reach” metrics around Twitter. They are almost reflect the vapor / smoke and mirrors of OzTam ratings!!

Gotta agree with Drew. The foxtel coverage has been fantastic!
8 channels of pure olympics ad in the IQ and you can watch anything you want at anytime. Best coverage of the games yet.

I’m loving the Foxtel coverage of the Olympic Games. 8 Channels of differing sports, and a little alert in the top right hand corner whenever the Aussie’s are about to compete on another channel.

I’ve watched nothing of the Olympics on Nine. Foxtel has allowed me to watch what I want when I want. And, if it’s live they say so and if it’s not they dont.

@ Drew – exactly.

If you want to see real coverage, watch 8 channels on Foxtel.

I agree with sentiments of Facebook comment. The ABC Grandstand coverage is very good; updates about most events and live commentary with informed commentors. It would be good to know what feeds Nine paid for and therefore this why we are only getting sports Australia is likely to get medals in like the swimming.

https://www.facebook.com/Channel9/posts/10151079574192608
Almost 10% of the audience actively taking a stand against Channels 9’s abuse of their Olympic responsibility is a major statement. I wish the team at 9 had the sense to address the issues with the coverage now, as I’m one of the people missing out on overwhelming majority of the Olympic Games!

As per my tweets, I’m disappointed they’re using Collingwood fans and racehorse callers as commentators instead of intelligent and articulate people with real knowledge and the ability to impart insights. I turned the sound off or went for sports with BBC commentators.

Have been watching it on Foxtel and I can safely say I would never ever be content with the chop and change coverage offered by one-channel FTA. I suppose you get what you pay for.

The live hockey on Ch9 this morning was five minutes behind the ABC radio coverage. I guess two hours of Big Brother dance promo’s adds up to five minutes… But please if it isn’t live take the bloody LIVE logo off screen!

i have adhd from watching foxtels coverage. when 8 channels is too much!

It’s simple really. In a social media age the consumer/viewer now likes to be in control of what they see/ read etc. I live in London (Aussie) and was fearful of having to watch team GB for two weeks. However the BBC have a fully interactive viewing platform whereby I can choose any sport to watch all day. I’m in control and can watch the Aussie team across 27 different channels. Nine needs to move into the 21 st century and fast. This is lazy broadcasting.

I have the foxtel channels as well , but find myself watching mainly the swimming. There is a good reason foxtel have put it on thier No 1 channel, because it will rate better than the beach volley ball, fencing and archery. Why ? Because we want to see winners. Traditionally that has been where we have won our medals.. Watch the ratings tank next week , there are not as many well known athletes to cheer for except Sally of course.
Also, with the time difference and with lesser established names i think most people are watching the Olympics during normal TV viewing parameters.
Also have to laugh at all the Brits who are here compaining that there is too much coverage of the aussie teams…..Please, where the hell do you think you are ???

Some of us have real lives and aren’t fixated by pay TV nor give a rats about obscure sports we only hear about every 4 years (or some of the main stream ones either). So we don’t care for pay TV – are we niche or mainstream (check the pentration figures).
Note for young marketers from someone hwo’s done it succesfully for a while – social media is a way to engage people, thats a given, but its also a given that its accessible by all sorts – knowledgable, vested interests, SM addicts and weirdos alike. Use it as a research by all means, but validate such opinion before putting your budget down on campaigns based on it.

Agree with the other comments of the same ilk. If you want to watch the olympics (every medal event at your leisure) get Fox. If you want to watch endless swimming trials watch nine. simple

Foxtel should jump in on that Facebook page with a special one-off limited time offer…100+ potential new customers!

@scoop

Apparently it doesn’t if you look at that chart.

Yay for Foxtel!

After finding 404 errors throughout the NineMsn site I chucked a little passive aggressive tanty re: the same thing: http://www.facebook.com/photo......038;type=1

Very difficult to find out what time the “good” events are on – now I’m checking Foxtel Guide to guess what might be on Ch9.

All these you get what you pay for comments are ridiculous. BBC the British FTA broadcaster has 12 dedicated Olympics channels. Channel 9 will make a heap of money off of their Olympic rights and it is their responsibility to give a quality show. Also the beyond stupid one channel law should have been looked at at-least to make an exception for the Olympics

I must admit the Foxtel coverage is good. I’ve not watched anything on Nine since the opening ceremony.

As for the ‘ Viewer’ comment. I love all types of sport, and yes it’s great to see Australian’s winning but there are other country’s competing and winning medals at the Olympics. No doubt you live in a bubble and don’t get out much. I take you like programs like the Shire and Lara Bingle as well?

A huge amount of people can’t afford Foxtel, simple as that. With three channels at their disposal, Nine could have easily negotiated rights that let them repeat their overnight coverage all the next day on another channel, instead of showing their normal lunchtime/afternoon programmes. It’s also not difficult to have a tickertape-type screen graphic that updates viewers on other sports, surely this is Broadcasting 101 with only one feed and so many events. They also trumpeted their 3D channel for the Games, but apparantly all this shows is the Opening Ceremony again… and again…

9 fails again.

I am absolutely loving the Foxtel coverage…8 channels to choose from! I am finding myself addicted to sports I never thought I would watch! Well done Foxtel.

Love it.. i had a look at their facebook page and it’s as if the olympics is not even on! Apart from the comments by angry viewers.

A company that seems to have gotten correctly into the Olympic spirit is Salsa’s Mexican Grill which is giving two tacos to people between 2-3pm after each day that the Mexicans win a medal. Don’t know if there is such a promo for Aussie medals but props to them

How has no-one commented on the so-called ‘infographic’ yet?

I hope the ECD at Ogilvy will be launching a full investigation into how this ever made it into the public domain.

Worst Olympics ever.

Clearly the IOC and broadcast networks genuinely didn’t understand just how far we have moved.

ABC Newsradio (and all ABC radio from what I can tell) internet feeds are banned internationally because of “The Olympics broadcast agreement” Try using it from TuneIn radio app, and the droning voice repeating itself is enough to make me dirty on the Olympics in general.

Despicable from an event that is supposed to be about a community of nations coming together in peace, not a cartel of companies wringing every last dollar from an increasingly pissed off populace. Check out NBC’s fan page for a steady stream of disgruntled punters. https://www.facebook.com/nbc

The last gasps of a dying business model.

The Likes for that comment on 9’s Facebook page are up to 131,000 now…

The post made by Matthew Taylor on Facebook on Monday (2 days ago) has been liked, up until now by 139,978 people (Facebook accounts.)

Take a look at the ad’s on the right. I don’t think Facebook are getting it right. I think they need a new design (I am currently using a Macbook Pro.) Perhaps just two ad’s per page, then they would stand out.

Either way, I am online surfing as opposed to watching Channel 9. (I have turned them off as their coverage is simply awful.)

I wonder how many likes this post will end up with?

Eddie, take a close look mate, I think people are trying to tell you something!!!

I’m often surprised by how few seem to understand why you only get to see certain events on free to air commercial TV. Swimming rates, Nine are in this to make money and they are not going to make more money by showing badminton. Their margins are so small, the cost of the broadcast is phenomenal and they have to recoup that money by appealing to the masses (and angering a large and social media aware minority in the process). I guess a few of you have worked in commercial TV and know the kind of budgets involved.

We expect to have control of what’s on our screen but the truth is while commercial free to air TV exists, choices will be made for you and those choices are not always what you might want to see. If this Olympics was on 7 or 10, we’d be complaining about exactly the same thing. I don’t see anyone else coming forward to start a commercial TV station in a hurry! I suppose the foxtel model is the way forward for the future and we have to pay if we want (almost) exactly what we individually want.

10minutes on channel 9’s wall..

Jack Hemming-Price
Put the tennis back on you idiots, nobody cares about the cycling
about a minute ago

Tristan Ronald Thomas
When are you going to actually follow Australia in the olympics and stop playing ads every 8 bloody minutes? Your coverage is pathetic compared to foxtel…there’s more sports on the ch 7 website, I’d recommend to anyone people follow the Olympics from there than your hopeless coverage.
about a minute ago

Dylan Noronha
You have to be kidding. Vintage Hewitt on fire against the best player of the last 2 years yet you change over to the cycling which goes for dead set ages. Really Channel 9, really.
2 minutes ago

David Carmelo Clay
show the basketball for christ sake. as if you would show the cycling for this one rider who inevitably wont win. duds. dud channel
2 minutes ago

Sam Gibson
What the hell is wrong with you! Do you have any idea what you are doin with the olympic coverage
2 minutes ago

Tommy Lam
Hewitt is beating Djkovic and Opals are playing Brazil and Channel 9 is showing a Russian on a bike…
21 · 3 minutes ago

Marcus Greig
NOBODY CARES ABOUT CYCLING TIME TRIALS. TENNIS.
3 minutes ago

Cheryl Lampard
Come on channel 9, put the tennis back on !!!
3 minutes ago

Marcus Greig
TENNIS RETARDS…SHOOT THE PRODUCER OF THIS AUSTRALIAN COVERAGE
4 minutes ago

Marcus Greig
KERRY PACKER WOULD BE TURNING IN HIS GRAVE…
5 minutes ago

Esmatullah Hussein Akram
WHERES THE TENNISS????????
5 minutes ago

Jack Gardner
it would be nice you would just leave one sport on and not change it just as it gets good!
5 minutes ago

Graeme Andrews
Why don’t you stay with the tennis while lleyton is actually winning????
5 minutes ago

Scott Abbott
Are use for real? Hewitt is beating Djokovic, yet you’ve got on other countries in cycling… this is an absolute joke!
5 minutes ago

Rhys Harrop
You guys are a joke you have Hewitt on playing against the 2nd seed the joker, high standard of tennis. hewitt won the first set. yet u put on the road bikes??? Showing no Aussies….
2 · 5 minutes ago

David Bowley
Your Olympic coverage is pathetic. Get your act together. Go from the tennis with hewitt playing superb onto bike racing with no Aussies. No wonder your ratings are down.
1 · 5 minutes ago

Marcus Greig
Put the Tennis back on RETARDS
5 minutes ago

Kara Castles
Channel 9, there are Australian’s competing right now, and I am watching cycling time trails, I couldn’t care less about the Russian athlete that I am watching. You are the only channel broadcasting, and you are doing such an average job at it. I would much prefer to watch it live rather than a reply, get your act together. x
6 minutes ago

Kevin Pham
Kerry Packer would’ve been disappointed in the poor job your people have done on the coverage of the London Olympics, barely any variety
7 minutes ago

Erin Hunt
Please show us more than 30 seconds of the opals game!! Why show every other country competing in the road race and a billion adds instead?? Use Gem!!!
7 minutes ago

Darcy Furnell
No worries didn’t want to watch Hewitt winning rather watch cycling..
4 · 7 minutes ago

Maida Mujkic
give me leyton hewitt
31 · 7 minutes ago

Matt Hansford
Omfg put the tennis on
1 · 8 minutes ago

Natalee Beadman
Get time trials off and Aussies back on. Hewitt or Opals please!
1 · 8 minutes ago

Nathan Cornell
Lleyton Hewitt is beating djokovic, the opals are playing brazil. Yet you’re showing a Russian ride a bike. Are you clowns for real?
32 · 8 minutes ago

Lily Smyth
Step 1: Download http://www.expatshield.com/ Step 2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/t...../watchlive Watch BBC coverage of Olympics.
1 · 9 minutes ago

Chris Cotton
Hewitt is beating Djokovic for the first time ever and you are showing Swiss men riding bikes. Come ON!
8 · 10 minutes ago

The issue of broadcast rights are only going to become more complicated as we move forward, because sporting organizations will look to extracting as much cash as they can for the product they provide. They look for individual broadcasters (service providers) to provide versious services, instead of using a handful of broadcasters with multimedia streaming abilities. Over time, I can see that this may well damage both (sporting & broadcast) brands, as you need to go to a third party if you wish to stream a sport.

NINE, along with all other FTA’s, are victims of their own campaigning against anti-siphoning of major sports. In their attempt to stop FOXTEL poaching these tentpole events they’ve painted themselves into a corner about what they can and cannot air on their second and third channels. That’s why we’re stuck with one channel jumping around events like a mad-man while their other channels aren’t utilised. In “keeping sport free for all Australian’s” they’ve screwed most Australian’s. Interesting to see how the negotiations will go for Sochi and Rio…

I heart FOXTEL! Best $16 I ever spent 🙂

This will be the last Olympics where the majority of Australians will be watching on FTA. As The Awful Truth (3.35pm) says, the BBC (not FTA, people – they have a licence fee over there) have created a brilliant resource that allows you to watch whatever you want online. If you’re prepared to go through the hassle of re-routing your IP address to a UK one, you can get past the geoblock and watch it too. Four years from now, everyone will be doing it as a matter of course.

i’m happy to admit that i stuffed up by not getting foxtel for the games. i can certainly afford it, but honestly i’ve never really regretted not having it in the past – 4 games of footy per week on free-to-air is enough. all the shows on the other channels i can download, and i can watch the races for free on racingnetwork.com.au. i just feel that i don’t need to spend another $100 per month on something i’ll use for a few hours.

karl stefanovic is doing his best, but he’s just got no credibility or pedigree when it comes to sports broadcasting. he doesn’t resonate with me at all.

the worst is when you wake up to watch some of the live events at 5am in the morning and have to suffer through cameron williams and leila mckinnon.. bloody hell.

Don’t have Foxtel and neither do 70% of Australian households. What a treat for those in Britain who can watch the Olympics for free on a public broadcaster with multi-channels. Nine is doing a great job at slowly diminishing viewer interest in the Olympics, a creeping decline. But one free to air channel cannot do the Olympics justice. Next time around there will need to be a major rethink as both advertisers and audience will be unhappier still. If I was a free to air broadcaster I would never again bid for rights. It makes no financial sense anymore.

The Foxtel Olympics app is the best thing ever and free to Foxtel subscribers.

I just open it up each morning and watch the events I missed overnight.

No moronic Nine personalities shoved down my throat.
No waiting.
No bullshit.

@Harry. The BBC is not free. In the UK you will need to buy a TV license. (Unless you want to risk it.)

Each license is £145 ($215), per year.

Having said the above. You get awesome shows on the BBC, made by the beeb. Many channels, they also have kick arse radio stations and of course a fantastic website. Shows, which are world renound, awesome news, opinion, current affairs, comedy, sports coverage (I could write a book about it.)

All in all it is worth every penny if you ask me.

The great thing here in Oz, is that you can set up a VPN through to the UK and watch for free. Boom! 🙂

As for Channel Nines coverage. It is unbelievable. They have totally missed an opportunity to engage an audience, instead they are repelling them. It furthers my opinion that Nine is a club of ego’s who are not searching for the next amazing way to engage their audience. They are all too busy learning the latest way to present as patronisingly as possible to their viewers who they regard as buffoons.

Well, this Olympics coverage has really cemented the evident fact that the buffoons seem to be working at Channel Nine.

Admittedly, I do love Underbelly. Apart from that, everything else on there is a load of old rotten shite.

Worst Olympics ever eh willemrt? What about the coverage from Olympia … total rubbish! Not even any Twitter to interrupt the bike race.

I LOVE the Foxtel coverage. Money well spent and loving watching the table tennis, gymnastics, diving and basketball. Have not been watching ANY of Nine’s coverage which is just equestrian, swimming and rowing as well as five minutes of hockey.

Yes it will be in interesting to see how rights will be carved for the next games. I have Foxtel an it the best money I have spent. I can watch my opals and Boomers without any studio crosses like on nine. And also switching, what year is it 1976. The FTA networks better to get up to speed and fast. I also been have listening to ABC radio n coverage which is excellent. You can now get a DAB radio for around $40 and get all the olympics 24/7 with their olympics channel.

I agree – Nine fails again!!! Not only in content and coverage of sports they choose to show, also their ‘head’ presenters Leila and Eddie who are sooooo amateurish.
An utter disgrace that the only FTA coverage is delivered by David’s mates and family. Yet again.

What’s new – every time the Olympics are on, the broadcaster does an awful job. Useless comentators, patchy coverage, missing important events etc etc.
Unfortunately I can’t afford Foxtel or I would be watching the equestrian 24/7
Somebody said 9 only show equestrian. What a load of bull!! They totally missed out on showing the top 10 riders riding for the gold medal. Had absolutely no idea what was going on – were we in a medal or not?? Had to go to website next day to find out.
As for the dressage – a total of 2.00 minutes of Kristy Oatley’s test and not even that was sequential. Nothing of Lyndal Oatley’s test. And, even then I had to find that on the catch up TV. What about the world’s best?? Guess I have to wait til they bring out the DVD of the Olympics

My main issue with nine is the WAY that they cover ANY event whatsoever. Half the time they’re ‘cutting back’ to a sport (eg. this happened in the rowing), with NO INTRODUCTION into which countries are competing, which lanes they’re competing in, and no signage as to what event it actually is (eg. is this the 100m butterfly? The 200m?).

With the swimming, they also have a tendency to start interviewing the aussie swimmers who have just competed… only problem is, they set up the interview as a split screen with the NEXT race, while ANOTHER AUSSIE is competing!! How are we meant to cheer for this new aussie competitor with an interview going on at the same time? Surely the interview can wait until after the race?

The lack of clear signage and complete disregard for what a viewer might want in watching the olympics (eg. we might actually want to concentrate on a single event without an interview competing with it on a splitscreen) is incredibly frustrating.

Oh and did anyone else notice that our male aussie gymnast Josh Jefferis had limited coverage by his own country?? They had to cut to him on one of his events in the finals, the broadcaster admitting they had missed out on footage of him and hence the lack of commentary. Why were the aussie commentators covering any other gymnast but our own aussie one? And in a final no less? Appalling.

Hi, I have to say your coverage of the Olympics is crap. 1. You don’t know what your going to be watching at any given time, 2. You swap from one sport to the next, 3. The commentary isn’t good eg. Interviewing a track person who got silver & got asked what happened you must be disappointed, really, they just got silver, a lot better than what you got, 4. Never knowing what is happening. Hopefully next Olympics Will go back to a network that will show coverage of mote than just a minute of events!!! Most people wouldike to see an hour of gymnastics, an hour of swimming, more than 5 mins of tennis etc. iI love channel nine bit their coverage of the Olympics isn’t good…!@@@

185,000 people have liked that comment now!

Channel 9 you should be ashamed of the coverage of the games. So far we have been watching swiming and a few other sports then we go back to the swiming. The commentaters should be sacked for asking questions such as [ you must be disappointed not getting the gold] pull your head in ch 9 if anyone needs to get their act together its you. Thank god ive got fox so i dont need to watch ch 9 but i feel sorry for the people who do have to watch ch 9.

Ch9’s coverage of the Olympic games is NOT coverage of the sports as much as it is coverage of MIND NUMBING commercials!

8/10 events you cover, are single events, example; a heat swim followed by 3minutes of MIND numbing commercials, followed by another single event then followed by another 3 minute set of commercials. This is repeated throughout your coverage and to be frank, this has made the viewing of what should be exciting, entertaining exposure of these elite athletes into a complete farce of VERY disturbing, forced down your throat, of MIND NUMBING commercials.

Shame on you channel Nine!

This is coverage of commercials, not coverage of the Olympics games…absolutely disgusting coverage.

channel 9 your a hoax especially the commentaters, you have no act. You need to take leasons of roy and hg or even better let them take over.

Lets not forget the coverage of the women’s hockey when they played Great Britain. The women’s triathalon started so we “crossed” to watch it then left it two hours later. The only time we watched the hockey was when we came back from an ad break and they accidentally left the hockey on for 5 seconds ad back we went to the triathalon.

Sometime during that England equalised and we watched that “replay” and went back to the triathalon.

Basically the coverage has been woeful, I realise you can’t keep everybody happy, however, some sort of continuity would have been great.

channel u r use less

im glad ive got fox, because ch9 you suck.

It would be great if the ABC could get the next Olympics.

I would pay $50 to the ABC for access via their IView for Olympics coverage. Heck I might stretch that to $100. (Then again I can pay less and get The BBC) Tis hard isnt it.

Either way 9 need to give them up. They plaster their own ad’s, too many ad’s and peddle their right wing agenda, plus the ego centric hosts and commentators – yuck.

I don’t mind the Pome cricket bloke though. Eddie, stick to the back office mate!

Eddie if there was a sport such as an ego event you would win no problem. Since when have you been an athlete ?

work it!

Ch 9 s coverage was the worst in Olympic history!

Having been looking forward so much to the Olympics closing ceremony, we had to turn it off – completely ruined by Channel 9 commentators talking over the entertainment, not commenting on it at all but just mindlessly boasting about Australia’s medal count and Australia’s athletes. Congratulations to Australia’s athletes but Channel 9’s parochial commentary has completely spoiled an international celebration.
Wizard

Hey Channel Nine:

Could you have utilised your license to broadcast some of the Olympics in an easy to access digital format and made a shed load of coin in the process?

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19242083

Poor coverage channel 9. Foxytel rocks.
What I would like to know, is who was the bloke doing the London gold segment. He needs to go to max Rowley for some presenter tips. He didn’t introduce himself once or finish with his name. Very easy to end with ” goodnight from NAME, see you tomorrow night” we just called him the English tosser, but would love to know who the hell he was.

OK living in the southern hemisphere makes it difficult as far as times, so like most people staying up all night for two weeks wasn’t practical for me. Because of this I missed most of the olympics which makes me feel totally ripped off! Channel nine why couldn’t you have shown encore performances of whole hockey, basketball,water polo or volleyball matches or any competition where Aussies were involved, during the day instead of Days of Our Lives or reruns of Ellen. Saturday afternoon Gem aired Bewitched, Green Acres and F Troop! Come on!!!
Channel 10 thought it was important enough to put encore performances of Masterchef on, but Channel 9 didn’t feel the same about the Olympics!!!

@RB,

I can only think of one English accent speaker for Nine and that is Mark Nicholas.

I am critical of Nines coverage and McGuire, in my mind, should never be allowed to commentate over anything again.

I actually like Mark though. i think he is a great presenter?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Nicholas

My family cannot afford the added luxury of foxtel, like so many other families out their. As my children are getting older their sense of patriotism and enthusiasm to be able to cheer on their fellow Aussies was catching. It didn’t take long for them to be disheartened when channel nine seemed to play the same thing over and over and it always appeared to be at the same time. People work and go to school therefore cannot stay up alnight to watch something that may be of interest to them at 2:30am because that is the only time they are airing that particular sport. Is channel 9 choosing to air certain events because this is what they like to watch???? Sometimes it seemed that way.

My objections to channel 9’s coverage of the Olympics were the lack of variety, the disgraceful bias and lack of any understanding of the sports demonstrated by the commentators (many of whom were recycled footballers & cricketers already under contract to provide ‘sports’ commentary) and the fact that with 3 digital channels, they couldn’t find room between re-runs of 90’s sitcoms to ensure that viewers could watch a whole match in any sport without interruption. Channel 7 did a better job than 9 before the advent of digital television.