How long will that last for I wonder. Last time they tried this they were getting ratings not much above zero.
RUGBY LEAGUE ON NINE IN 2016
THREE GAMES LIVE AND FREE EVERY WEEK IN HIGH DEFINITION ACROSS AUSTRALIA
Thursday Night Football 7.30pm AEDT Thursday on Nine*
In a new- look broadcast, Peter Sterling will anchor Channel Nineās LIVE Thursday Night Football coverage in 2016 with unprecedented access to teams, plus pre and post-match analysis live from the ground.
Phil Gould and Andrew Johns will join the voice of Rugby League, Ray āRabsā Warren, in the commentary box this Thursday night at Pirtek Stadium when the premiership favourites, the Brisbane Broncos, take on the Parramatta Eels. Queensland and Broncos legends Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer will join the panel of experts before and after the game.
Gould said: āThe Brisbane Broncos might be early season favourites to take out the title, but they wonāt get any favours from the new-look Parramatta Eels and their passionate fans on Thursday night. What a way to start the year.ā
Friday Night Football 7.30pm AEDT Friday on Nine *
Yvonne Sampson will host Friday Night Football for Nineās NRL coverage in 2016, also with unprecedented pre and post-match analysis live from the venue, including unmatched access to teams after the game.
Erin Molan will join the team for Friday Night Football, reporting from the sideline.
On Friday night, Paul Vautin rejoins the commentary team at Brookvale Oval when the Manly Sea Eagles play the Canterbury Bulldogs. Vautin will sit alongside Ray Warren and Peter Sterling, a combination that goes back to 1992.
āItās great to have the old gang back together and what a place to start calling again at Brookvale Oval when the Manly Sea Eagles take on a gritty Bulldogs team coached by one of Manlyās greats in Des Hasler. Bring it on!ā said Vautin.
Wide World of Sports 10.30am AEDT Sunday on Nine *
Wide World of Sports has a new co-host this year: Emma Freedman is coming home to Nine.
Nineās Director of Sport, Tom Malone, said: āI first dragged Emma out of a pub in Melbourne as an 18-year-old to do some racing tips on the Today Show. She didnāt even have shoes on! Iām very excited sheās returning to sit alongside Ken Sutcliffe, Michael Slater and John Steffenson as a co-host of Wide World of Sports.ā
Freedman is excited to be coming home to Nine. āItās great to be rejoining the team at WWOS. Iām looking forward to being back in the co-host seat and bringing viewers all the latest sports news and opinion every Sunday morning.ā
The Sunday Footy Show 11.30am AEDT Sunday on Nine *
The Sunday Footy Show also has a new host, with Yvonne Sampson taking over in 2016. During the season, she will be joined by all of Nineās experts to dissect and deliberate on NRL games every week.
Sampson said: āItās an enormous privilege to join The Sunday Footy Show. For two decades the program has delivered rugby league analysis and robust debates, and now I canāt wait to be part of it. To follow in the footsteps of Peter Sterling is a huge honour and a career highlight.ā
Sunday Afternoon Football 3.30pm AEDT Sunday on Nine *
Sunday Afternoon Football will be hosted by Peter Sterling in 2016. And this Sunday it doesnāt get any bigger when the Rabbitohs run out against their arch rivals, the Roosters.
Sterling said: āNot just a fierce battle between two of rugby leagueās most traditional rivals, but two clubs whose off-seasons have provided more lows than highs. Who rises to the occasion to get their campaign off on a positive note?ā
A rivalry that dates back to the inception of rugby league in 1908, this clash promises to produce fireworks.
Also joining Nineās NRL coverage and sports shows as expert commentators and panellists in 2016 will be Brett Finch, Paul Gallen, Billy Slater, Matt Moylan, Ben Hunt, James Maloney and Sam Thaiday.
Freddie Cam
Former Roostersā premiership winning captain Brad āFreddieā Fittler will bring all the colour and action from the sideline at every game with the introduction of āFreddie Camā in 2016. Fittler will be given free rein to wander anywhere and do anything.
āWeāre taking the leash off Freddie ā literally. Heās getting his own camera, with no leads. Live television is about being unpredictable and dangerous, and they donāt come more unpredictable than Freddie,ā Tom Malone said.
Malone added that Nineās whole NRL team canāt wait to get started. āThe 2016 season will be bigger and better on Channel Nine. The best games, broadcast by the best team, live and free right around Australia. There is only one channel rugby league fans need to watch this year, and itās right here on Nine ā and itās free. And of course the biggest games of 2016 ā State of Origin and the Grand Final ā can only be watched live and free on Nine.ā
*Check local guides for details. Times will differ.
That is incorrect as the telecasts on 9Gem in AFL states will be in SD. Nine should have said three games live in high definition in NSW, QLD and ACT.
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WTF? Good god thatās all we need. Good to see theyāre adding tacky innovations to the coverage. Hopefully viewers flee to fox.
i agree - thatās wrong - Nine should be checking their facts better than that.
^ If you donāt mind missing out on more than half of the games each round or can put up with āFreddie Camā
Surprised to see Freedman return to Nine after being dumped and especially after the spray her father Tweeted regarding her sacking.
JOHNATHAN THURSTON JOINS CHANNEL NINE
Nine has announced that NRL superstar Johnathan Thurston is joining the Network on a five-year deal from 2016.
Thurston will complement Nineās top rugby league talent lineup by moving into a central role on The Footy Show.
Executive Producer of The Footy Show, Glenn Pallister, said: āIām thrilled to have secured the best and most popular player in the game to be a part of the Channel Nine team for the next five years, be it on The Footy Show or our NRL coverage.
āJohnathanās presence and personality fits right into our DNA. Heās a superstar player and a superstar bloke ā a perfect addition that Iām sure our viewers will love.ā
The North Queensland Cowboys 2015 premiership hero expressed his joy at the deal which will see him step straight off the playing field and onto the microphone.
āIām very excited to be joining the Channel Nine family where I will continue to develop my media career with the talented team on The Footy Show and the match day commentary team. Nine is live and free and has the best in the business, and I look forward to being a part of that.
āIām really happy at the moment and so thankful for the opportunity to stay involved in the game I love after finishing my playing career.ā
Once Thurston retires from rugby league the new deal will see his presence increase on the Nine Network.
Nineās Director of Sport, Tom Malone, said: āItās a terrific signing by Coach Pallister, easily the biggest of the off-season. JT is the biggest name in rugby league, with the best laugh in Australia ā bar none.
āHe delivers on the field with brilliance, and off the field with his trademark charm and humour. With a record number of Cowboys games live and free on Nine this year, itās great to have JT as part of our rugby league team.ā
Besides being a regular co-host and contributor on The Footy Show, Thurston will feature across the network in Nine News exclusives and Nineās match commentary in both New South Wales and his native Queensland.
Hopefully JT will get a LOT of voice training and media coachingā¦
When Iāve seen him being interviewed in the past after football matches, he has always sounded like the kind of bloke that couldnāt string two words together.
Thurston is one of those players who is absolutely stuffed after 80 minutes of league. Heās very good in other contexts.
The Footy Show (NRL) can now be watched live on the 9Now app in Melbourne
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Half his press conferences are a short sentence, followed by a laugh.
Double headers on Sunday again for Queensland fans too with another season of the Queensland Cup (Some super fund is sponsoring both 2nd tier comps this season). Schedule at this stage is as followsā¦
ROUND 1: Sunshine Coast vs Northern Pride, Quad Park Kawana (12:40 Kickoff)
ROUND 2: Ipswich vs Townsville, North Ipswich Reserve (12:40)
ROUND 3: Mackay vs Easts, Stadium Mackay (12:40)
ROUND 4: Souths Logan vs Ipswich, Davies Park (12:40)
ROUND 10: Northern Pride vs Redcliffe, Barlow Park Cairns (1:40)
ROUND 11: CQ Capras vs PNG Hunters, Browne Park Rockhampton (1:40)
ROUND 12: Ipswich vs PNG Hunters, North Ipswich (1:40)
ROUND 13: Townsville vs Norths, Jack Manski Oval Townsville (1:40)
ROUND 14: Burleigh vs Wynnum Manly, Pizzey Park
Rounds TBD (Listed are the Sunday games in the South-East corridor. Iām assuming that if the TV game is to be further north it would already have been announced as it has been for the few rounds in the middle of the season)
R5: Either Tweed Heads vs Townsville (Piggabeen), Wynnum vs Souths Logan (Kougari) or Norths vs Burleigh (Bishop)
R6: Either Redcliffe vs Ipswich (Dolphin), Souths Logan vs Burleigh (Davies) or Easts vs Wynnum (Langlands)
R7: Either Souths Logan vs Tweed (Davies) or Ipswich vs Wynnum (North Ipswich)
R8: Either Tweed vs Mackay (Piggabeen) or Redcliffe vs Easts (Dolphin)
R9: Either Tweed vs Capras, Sun Coast vs Norths, Burleigh vs Townsville or Easts vs Souths Logan
R15: Probable to be Tweed vs Burleigh as itās the only scheduled Sunday game at this stage
R16: Either Redcliffe vs Mackay, Tweed vs Souths Logan, Easts vs Pride or Norths vs PNG
R17: Either Tweed vs PNG, Redcliffe vs Wynnum, Souths Logan vs Townsville or Norths vs Easts
R18: Either Burleigh vs Norths, Souths Logan vs Wynnum or Easts vs Capras
R19: Either Redcliffe vs PNG, Souths Logan vs Easts or Norths vs Sun Coast
R20: Country Round, venues to be determined so expect the game to be at a venue in the south east or south west of the state
R21: Either Redcliffe vs Norths, Souths Logan vs Sun Coast or Wynnum vs Tweed
R22: Either Easts vs Redcliffe or Norths vs Wynnum
R23: Either Tweed vs Pride, Sun Coast vs Capras, Wynnum vs Easts or Norths vs Mackay
R24: Either Easts vs Burleigh or Sun Coast vs Wynnum
R25: Either Easts vs Mackay, Redcliffe vs Tweed, Burleigh vs Souths Logan, Wynnum vs Ipswich or Norths vs Townsville
Fingers crossed it is in HD as from my many visits to watch games at Bashup Pk and Dolphin Oval the camera gear is all HD. Iām guessing as the QRL is produced by QTQ it may be a while before itās in HD (likewise with the news)
If tonight is anything to go by he needs an awful lot of media training. He contributed very little.
I wonder if this will be broadcast online via Nineās Brisbane Channel? I see no reason why it shouldnāt be
What will happen to streams of TCN and QTQ via 9Now when NRL matches are on? Will viewers be referred to GTVās stream instead? Nine has streaming rights to NRL matches covered by the network from 2018 under its new broadcast deal with the league, but I canāt remember if Nine can stream matches this year and/or next year under the revised deal.
I read somewhere that they canāt until 2018 I think 9now will have a still screen like the cricket.
9HD Newcastle looks sensational.
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If you have fox watch it on there. Their coverage and pre game show is far superior to nineās.