Only one of the trio of WCC Series matches will be on GEM this weekend, the main clash between Leeds and North Queensland from 5:30AM EDST (4:30 Qld). Sky Sports feed and callers will probably be used so get ready for the bias towards Leeds!
my Guide shows all games being screened across the 3 days.
wonder if they will be using Matt Thompson more often-i could see him instead of Rabs for the Thursday or Friday night games? i odnt think Rabs would want to do 3 games a week plus he is unwell anyway
so who does FOX use for their 8 games then? like they have Warren Smith,Andrew Voss and Matt Russell for the main games who would they use as well?
Andy Raymond
Joel Caine
was thinking that FOX would use Smith and Voss for the biggest games and have Matt Russell and Joel Caine for the lower level games(like Saturdays at 3pm or Sundays at 2pm) even Andy Raymond could do some games too
The 45 second version of Nine’s “#TGIT” promo for the Thursday Night NRL matches, great use of multicolours and graphics IMO!
Fan of the colours looks good.
Fox Sports have been touting their ad-free coverage – and we are not doubting their word for a moment. But part of the deal when Nine gave up Saturday night football and exclusive coverage of their other game was that Fox would run eight minutes of commercials that earn the Nine Network revenue.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how they work that into their broadcast. Nine also have a juggling act to work through with their commentators.
Legendary caller Ray Warren is locked in, but at this point Ray Hadley can’t call games that go head-to-head with his radio station 2GB.
The NRL season starts next week and the first two matches will air on 9Gem in AFL states (but in SD). Didn’t Nine say it will move NRL matches from 9Gem to 9Go? Looks like they are staying on 9Gem for a while, at least when Survivor is on air on Thursday nights.
Why aren’t they using opting-out of the simulcast on 9HD?
I’ve been expecting these HD simulcasts (9HD and 10HD) to be 100% simulcasts without any opting out. Mainly because I didn’t think the networks would want to have another program stream to manage - switching GEM in and out at the correct times, inserting filler programming when schedules don’t line up etc.
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The networks probably struggle enough with those “HD” watermark additions, let alone alternative programing!
Oh, it’s not unexpected, but it certainly irritates me. The switching in time seems to be a cop out in my eyes - if it’s not a smooth transition, so be it.
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##rugby League coverage
The Nine Network will bring you more rugby league than ever before with the addition of Thursday Night Footy giving fans three of the biggest NRL games LIVE and FREE every week in 2016.
The season kicks off on Thursday, March 3, when the new-look Parramatta Eels meet the premiership favourites, the Brisbane Broncos, in front of a parochial Eels crowd. The following night the big games roll on, with Nine broadcasting the Sea Eagles-Bulldogs clash, and then the Sunday blockbuster between the Roosters and Sam Burgess’s Rabbitohs.
Only on Nine’s Wide World of Sports will you hear the voice of rugby league Ray “Rabs” Warren, the only voice footy fans have known and loved for over 40 years.
Joining him will be a cavalcade of rugby league’s greatest stars and top reporters, including Peter Sterling, Andrew Johns, Phil Gould, Darren Lockyer, Wally Lewis, Brad Fittler, Ray Hadley, Matt Thompson, Yvonne Sampson, Brett Finch and Erin Molan.
Peter Sterling and Yvonne Sampson will host Nine’s NRL coverage for the 2016 season.
In another boon for rugby league on Nine in 2016, LIVE matches will be beamed into Adelaide on 9GEM.
The Wide World of Sports website – wwos.com.au – will keep rugby league fans up to speed online with live scores and statistics, round-the-clock news, and expert analysis from Andrew Johns.
Before the NRL season kicks off, The Footy Show returns for 2016 next Wednesday night LIVE from the home of 2015 premiers, the North Queensland Cowboys, in Townsville, with Paul “Fatty” Vautin, Erin Molan, Darryl “The Big Marn” Brohman and Beau Ryan. Everyone’s favourite segments will be back, including Beau Knows, Player Probe and Small Talk with the Big Marn, plus some new surprises and big announcements coming soon.
Tom Malone, Nine Network Director of Sport, said: “Nine’s footy will be bigger and better than ever in 2016 – the best games, live and free right around Australia on the Nine Network, with the best commentators and experts in the game.”
• 2016 TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP – ROUND 1
Parramatta Eels vs Brisbane Broncos Thursday, March 3, at 7.30pm
Manly Sea Eagles vs Canterbury Bulldogs Friday, March 4, at 7.30pm
Sydney Roosters vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Sunday, March 6, at 3.30pm
• NRL FOOTY SHOW – Returns at 8.40pm on Wednesday, March 2, from the home of Johnathan Thurston’s North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville
• SUNDAY NRL FOOTY SHOW – Returns Sunday, March 6.
• WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS – Returns this Sunday, February 28, at 10.30am LIVE from The Australian Open of Surfing in Manly, INCLUDING AN EXCLUSIVE 1-ON-1 INTERVIEW WITH SKATEBOARDING CHAMPION, TONY HAWK.
** Check local guides for details. Times will differ.
I believe it’s been reported that 2016 will be Ray Warren’s last year of NRL commentary. Has this been confirmed by Nine?
No, Rabs said he “sees this” as being his last year (primarily due to his health) but he didn’t definitively say it would be his last.
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Good news for rugby league fans in South Australia who have been starved of live matches in the past couple of years (except for State of Origin and the NRL Grand Final).
So much for Ray Hadley not coming back. Will he do Friday nights? Rabs Thursday/Sunday?