- Football fans have criticised Nine’s coverage of Origin
- The broadcaster showed advertisements during the match
- Some fans have called for the match to be shown on Fox Sports
Football fans have called on Channel 9 to share broadcast rights for State of Origin with Fox League after they were angered by the network’s coverage of the deciding match in Brisbane.
Channel 9 has exclusive broadcast rights to Origin matches and the Grand Final, while Fox Sports will broadcast every regular season match, in line with its current TV deal with the NRL.
However, angry viewers are demanding the arrangement be changed after becoming frustrated with Nine’s decision to show advertising during the match without actually stopping play.
Normally the ads were only shown during half time, but due to the high tempo of both teams during the match, there was hardly any opportunity to show ads.
This caused fans to see commercials even though there was no break in the match.
Rather than taking up a small portion of the screen, Nine gave the adverts the lion’s share of the space, while the live football action was barely visible.
Football fans took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to express their dismay at the “scandalous” decision.
‘My god. In-game ads?’ said one fan. ‘God, Channel 9 is awful.’
Football fans are fiercely opposed to Channel 9’s coverage of the latest State of Origin match
The broadcaster chose to run adverts during NSW’s win over Queensland
Another fan said: ‘Channel 9 putting adverts in every break is a joke. An advert during the match is unacceptable.’
‘Channel 9 is deplorable,’ wrote a third fan. ‘Exciting game, no interruptions, so let’s just blast an ad during the game. Have a silent ad at the bottom or something. Give me strength.’
Nor were supporters particularly impressed with the decision to interview the Origin coaches during the match itself.
The free-to-air network asked both coaches for their thoughts on the first half at Suncorp Stadium in the series-deciding match.
The analysis was initially hailed as groundbreaking, but advocates expressed frustration with the move at X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Fans took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to criticise the free broadcaster
“Someone please start a petition to stop Nine interviewing the coaches during the game,” fan Brendan Crabb tweeted.
Another wrote: ‘Does anyone else hate it when they go to the coaches during the game for a comment?
A third said: ‘Mid-game interviews are completely pointless. Please stop doing them.’