In saying that, the last five Saturday night games (Round 22 - 26) each season will be simulcasted on Nine from 2018 as part of the new rights deal
NRL takes back control of the draw for the 2018 season.
Why would the 6pm game finishing late affect the start of the 7.50 game? (unless it was a double header at the same stadium)
If the 6pm game finishes late due to various reasons (injuries, video reviews, golden point extra time), then the 7.50 game may need to be pushed back so viewers wonât miss the kick off.
Is there some rule that the games canât overlap? The 7.50pm game is exclusive to Nine, I doubt they would want to delay the start for viewers to watch another game that they donât have the rights to broadcast.
Itâll be live on Fox too wonât it, or was that just for this year?
Can the âbunkerâ only adjudicate one match at a time?
I have never seen it, but Iâm pretty sure they can. If you look in the bunker, there are 4 sections and they only use 1. Iâm sure they can.
The 7:50pm EST game would have to be delayed if the 6pm game finishes late since it would mean viewers on Fox NRL and possibly radio listeners (if 2GB, Triple M and/or ABC were to broadcast both games) would miss out on the start of the 2nd game.
Think the AFL has a rule that they can delay the start time of the Saturday night game Seven shows in Melborune since Fox Footy will often show that game. As a result, it means the twilight game canât overlap with that game.
Nine is the host broadcaster of the 7.50pm game, if the 6pm game runs late, they will have to pad out their pre-match telecast until that game finishes (obviously they wonât be allowed to air the closing stages). It will be a strange situation.
Knowing that Nine is notorious for padding out itâs State Of Origin and Grand Final coverage (sometimes starting close to an hour late!), I donât think they should have too much trouble padding out their pre-match coverage of stock-standard Friday Night Football games.
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Yvonne Sampson has signed with Fox.
Oh thatâs a shame⌠I liked her
its a shame she is leaving. She has been a good host for Nine over the last few years.
Doesnât make sense to me though, unless she gets either a bigger salary at Fox and/or a big role but with the likes of the current hosts that are on fox I thi k her role will be reduced than that of nine. Plus she wonât be hosting blockbuster events such as origin, finals etc. guessing sheâall be on FSN 500
I suspect they offered Cam Williams hosting duties for NRL and Origin as part of him replacing Ken. Hence Yvonne was left out in the cold.
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Personally I think having a host for regular season games apart from maybe a season opener or ANZAC Day is overkill. Yes some viewers are obsessed with wanting analysis and opinions but many like me couldnât give a hoot about a 30 minute gab fest about nothing in particular disguised as a preview. Just give some team news, a 5 minute preview of who will win and why, then get on with the game. That sort of thing is OK for finals and rep fixtures, those big games probably deserve a big buildup, but for a regular season game between a mid table battler and a wooden spoon candidate? Puhrlease?
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Oh well, am guessing Nine wants to maximise coverage from its $900 mil (or so) rights outlay. I canât say I blame them.
We all know kick off isnât until 8pm or so, so you can just tune in a bit later if you donât want the pre match.
And the pre match is better than some of the tripe they serve up on telly these days anyway.
According to The Sunday Telegraphâs Phil Rothfield, Ray Warren will only call one match in Sydney per week next year, meaning we will hear commentary from Ray Hadley and Matt Thompson more often.
Nine is claiming that Yvonne Sampsonâs contract that expires on 31 December 2016 has a six month non-compete clause and are looking to enforce it which would prevent her joining Fox Sports until 1 July 2017. Fox is said to be challenging Nineâs claim.