IIRC Nine did Saturday Afternoon delayed 4pm football in the mid 90s. Saturday Night football on FTA is definitely a rarity.
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Sterlo was asked by the Triple M commentators this afternoon why Channel Nine are now doing a Saturday night game. Sterlo said he didn’t know why…
That strikes me as a bit unprofessional.
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As I expected, Nine’s coverage is hosted from TCN studio (Sports Sunday set?). James Bracey, Peter Sterling and Darren Lockyer are on the panel. Even though this is a Fox League game, Nine has a camera at the ground capturing fans entering and teams warming up.
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I think I know what happened to those cameras & graphics equipment that Nine News Queensland just got rid of! 
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What a joke proclaiming HD on its HD channel when the picture quality is worse than that of Seven.
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Managed to catch the end of NRL tonight on 9Gem.
Cut to 9Gem promo for Friday night NRL 10sec after whistle, then rest of ads & start of movie (9:44pm, always earlier than EPG’s 9:50pm).
Unlike the AFL, NRL treat viewers outside Sydney & Brisbane like absolute shit.
I’m offended tbh 
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It probably wasn’t that much earlier than Sydney and Brisbane as The Footy Show was about to start.
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The Sydney "Daily Telegraph” today published the results of an online reader poll on who should replace Ray Warren as head commentator on Nine’s NRL coverage, with more than 2,000 votes. The results were:
Andrew Voss 32%
Graeme Hughes 27%
Warren Smith 12%
Ray Hadley 7%
Matt Thompson 6%
Andrew Moore 6%
Dan Ginnane 5%
Joel Caine 2%
Brenton Speed 2%
Matt Russell 1%
Ray Hadley was a bit bemused that he was even in the poll - he has stated that he isn’t interested in the role.
He endorsed Matt Thompson as Ray’s successor, and he wasn’t very complimentary towards Graeme Hughes or 2SM.
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But when will Ray Warren retire?
In my opinion, hopefully soon.
He is past his best.
Officially, he is signed with Nine until 2022, but is free to walk away at any time.
Though he hasn’t been calling many games this year.
Matt Thompson and Ray Hadley have been calling most of them.
There was a time in the early 90’s when most of the Gold Coast Seagulls home games were telecast through Qld on Saturday Nights, but they started playing more Sunday Afternoons by the time 1994 came along.
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Round 24
The NRL finals race has hit fever pitch and Nine’s Wide World of Sports is at the forefront this week with Round 24 set to provide more twists and turns in the tale of the top eight.
Thursday Night Football pits the Eels into the centre of a dramatic Gold Coast Titans player and coach standoff that has formed a titanic build-up with all the media attention this week.
The Eels will be wary of the Titans who have suffered heavy defeats in their last two games, and they also have memories of the Titans beating them earlier this season.
Dual NRL premiership winner and Nine’s expert commentator, Brad Fittler, said: “With Jarryd Hayne missing, all the pressure will fall on Ash Taylor. The entire Titans club has been embroiled in dramas over the last week so the footy will come as a welcome reprieve.
“Unfortunately they’re up against the Eels who will look to rebound after a disappointing loss to the last-placed Knights. The Mitchell Moses-Corey Norman halves combination may apply too much pressure with their kicking game for the Titans to get enough chances to score enough points.
“Rugby league provides a constant rebound for teams with their backs against the wall to fight back, so it will be an enthralling game.”
On Friday Night Football, the Dragons travel to Suncorp Stadium, hoping to breathe fire back into their top eight chances against the Broncos, , who ironically are coached by the last man to take them to the finals, Wayne Bennett, in 2011.
Nine’s expert commentator, Phil Gould, says it’s now or never for the Dragons.
“Just like clockwork the Broncos have hit their straps at the right time of year on the watch of finals mastercoach Wayne Bennett. The late-season shuffle of Ben Hunt to hooker and Kodi Nikorima to halfback is paying dividends but both are yet to play a true 80 minute contest in their new roles after two dominant wins. With the Dragons’ season on the line this will be a real litmus test.
“This is the Dragons’ chance to show they are finals-worthy and replicate the form that put them on top of the table earlier in the year. The need their forward pack to dominate if they are any chance with hard running and bruising defence. Coach Paul McGregor will have a good game plan but it’s on the players now to deliver.”
Gould’s player to watch: “Darius Boyd: He adds composure to the Broncos attack with his excellent decision making and leadership by example. If the Broncos are under pressure at any stage they will look to Boyd from fullback, who will more than likely get them on the right track and let their exciting and instinctive backs pour on the points.”
Nine’s Saturday Night Football will see the last two premiership winners battle it out when the Cowboys host the Sharks at 1300SMILES Stadium in Townsville.
While both sides have hit hurdles in recent weeks trying to cement a finals berth they are extremely gritty competitors. The Sharks will want to pay homage to playmaker James Maloney in his 200th NRL game while the Cowboys love a home rodeo against the Sharks, winning four of their last five in Townsville.
On Sunday Afternoon Football, the Bulldogs meet a Sea Eagles outfit desperate to bounce back after a shock loss against the Tigers last week.
The Sea Eagles have had a resurgence in 2017 with a new-look roster under Trent Barrett. They will expect nothing less than a big win against one of their former coaches, Des Hasler, who is having a very difficult season with the Dogs.
Broadcast Times
Thursday 17 August
Eels vs Titans
Sydney 7.30pm LIVE on Nine
Brisbane 7.30pm LIVE on Nine
Melbourne 7.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Adelaide 7.00pm LIVE on 9GEM
Perth 5.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Friday 18 August
Broncos vs Dragons
Sydney 7.30pm LIVE on Nine
Brisbane 7.30pm LIVE on Nine
Melbourne 7.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Adelaide 7.00pm LIVE on 9GEM
Perth 5.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Saturday 19 August
Cowboys vs Sharks
Sydney 7.30pm LIVE on Nine
Brisbane 7.30pm LIVE on Nine
Melbourne 7.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Adelaide 7.00pm LIVE on 9GEM
Perth 5.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Sunday 20 August
Bulldogs vs Sea Eagles
Sydney 3.30pm LIVE on Nine
Brisbane 3.30pm LIVE on Nine
Melbourne 3.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
Adelaide 3.00pm LIVE on 9GEM
Perth 1.30pm LIVE on 9GEM
RUGBY LEAGUE ACTION THIS WEEK ON NINE
SIX TACKLES WITH GUS – Nine’s James Bracey discusses the biggest rugby league issues of the week with NRL legend and expert commentator Phil Gould on Six Tackles with Gus. This week: Jarryd Hayne versus coaches; Benji Marshall’s return to the Tigers; The battle for the bottom; and Salary caps
THE NRL FOOTY SHOW – Tonight, August 17, after the footy. Fatty Vautin, Erin Molan, Darryl Brohman and Beau Ryan are joined by Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen and Newcastle Knights legend Adam MacDougall, who has a massive Beanie for Brain Cancer announcement. Aussie rocker Richard Clapton performs LIVE.
SPORTS SUNDAY – Sunday, August 20, at 10.00am. Frank and open debate on all the big issues in the week of sport. Host Emma Freedman is joined by Ian Healy, Cath Cox, Kris Smith, Peter FitzSimons, and this Sunday’s special guest is Australian Diamonds netballer, Caitlin Bassett.
SUNDAY NRL FOOTY SHOW – Sunday, August 20, at 11.00am. Hosted by James Bracey who is joined by Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Wally Lewis and Allana Ferguson. They pay tribute to Sea Eagles great Cliff Lyons and analyse the race for the top eight.
**Check local guides for details. Times will differ.
Finally gotten around to checking out Nine’s Saturday Night NRL coverage.
It is the FOX pictures, Nine commentary and with a mix of Nine’s and FOX graphics. Nine are using their own scoreboard graphics but the green REPLAY graphic from FOX is used, and the FOX “Super Saturday” full screen graphic appears at times as well.
The cheap part for me is that Nine are hosting it from the Sydney studios (with James Bracey, and tonight with Wally Lewis and Peter Sterling). Nine host all other Thurs, Fri and Sun games from the ground, they need to show consistency here.
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![Image_0821-1553(9HD Brisbane)[Nine News Now][1]](http://mediaspy-org-s3.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/original/3X/8/1/810e3aa98020dc706c724fce03af88697a6fbc3e.jpg)
They wouldn’t have hosting rights from the ground as it’s not an exclusive game. Those would be Fox’s should they choose to use them or it (on occasion they do). Same with Fox only having commentary box crosses for games where Nine is the host broadcaster.
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I never knew that there were such things as “hosting” rights, I always thought if you had broadcasting rights, you could cover it as you liked.
Nine don’t have any exclusive games anymore (except for Origin and the Grand Final).
Sorry, exclusive was probably the wrong word but I meant a game where they are “host broadcaster”. 
And yeah, there’s hosting rights, at least for the NRL. I suspect that clause may go in the future but I think for now Nine would be quite protective of being the one ones allowed to host on site for their big Friday night games.
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