The draw for the upcoming Hopman Cup was made today with Serena Williams representing USA alongside rising star Frances Tiafoe. They will play on the evening of New Year’s Day 2019 against Team Switzerland (Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic) which should be a ratings winner for Nine. Ash Barty and Matthew Ebden will play for Australia.
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Great to have Basil’s voice over most of your promo!
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I don’t think it matters terribly, but surely Nine could’ve used Todd Woodbridge’s voice if selecting from recent years, as he took over from Bruce?
You are right. 99.99% of viewers probably can’t pick who the commentator is anyway.
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You’re right, although Perth viewers and Sunrise viewers might be a bit confused.
Not that Perth viewers would mind, given there’s only a small number there who watches Nine.
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The Australian reports today Kia, one of the major sponsors of Australian Open, is locked in as one of Nine’s three main broadcast partners of the tournament, in a deal set to worth $3 million.
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The 2019 Australian Open was launched at a wet Melbourne Park this morning with tickets going on sale. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley, Todd Woobridge, Dylan Alcott, Peter Hitchener and a number of Nine personalities were there, even former netballer and The Block contestant Bianca Chatfield.
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And regular on Offsiders. Wouldn’t be surprised if Nine use her a lot more. One of the most successful sports people this century.
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I have phoned Nine Perth and asked whether they will have The Australian Open in Crystal Clear High Definition. A Nine Spokeswoman told me that the schedules will be released in December. If I was Channel Nine’s Wide World of Sports, I will have
- Hopman Cup beamed live in HD
- Australian Open in HD,
Not sure which multichannel will they be using. I’d say 9gem should use it. If Nine News clashes with tennis, they will be bumped to 9Go. This is similar to Seven’s tennis coverage.
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A talented family. Have met her. Her older sister Natalie is/was the Head of Sport at my old high school.
Jim Courier confirmed as a commentator
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Did Jim Courier just fly over to appear at the Upfronts? If so, that’s a pretty impressive commitment to make to a new employer after working at a rival for 10+ years.
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I’m sure Nine will use him while his here, production planning/meetings behind the scenes, meet the CEO, etc. Surely he’d be here for a few days at least.
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He’s stepped down as Davis Cup captain too but yeah that seems strange to fly him down for it
I phoned Channel 9 Perth and asked whether they will have a 9Tennis YouTube Channel. The lady at Channel 9 told me that there have not been press releases yet. They will send a press release in December. Although I noticed that a few Social Media channels have the 9Tennis page. 9tennis will have all the highlights, press conferences and previews.
This looks good for nine in the lead up to the Australian open as it would have bigger names than those shitty lead up tournaments. It will also push back the Australian Open with the final in February.
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