With the 2026 Australian Tennis Open underway on Nine today (January 18 of 2026), it is that time of year we talk again about the memorable moments from Seven’s Coverage during the 2000s well into 2018. Here is what I recall:
During 2000, Seven’s broadcast of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras was aired at 7:00 PM on Day 10 (January 27).
Until 2003 or 2004 (I think), the evening sessions were delayed until 8:30 PM Local Time around Australia before it was pushed forward to 7:30 PM. Were these Day Highlights Package?
During 2008, a tennis match involving Lleyton Hewitt was prolonged well into 4:35 AM
2012 Men’s Single Final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was concluded by 1:45 AM. I know that viewers in Western Australia saw Seven News sometime after 11:00 PM that evening.
In 1982, the NSW Rugby League (NSWRL) made a controversial decision to allocate TV rights for premiership matches solely to Channels 9 (for Saturday matches) and 10 (for Sunday matches), leaving many NSW country areas with no Saturday coverage, which was previously live on the ABC. Sundays were previously on Channel 7.
As per first article below from the SMH (19 October 1982) the original deal with Nine was to be for 3 years, but only lasted one year, I suspect simply because it was so unpopular with regional fans that something had to be done. And as a lot of regional areas didn’t take Nine’s Saturday game in 1983, among them NBN, NEN/ECN, and RVN… Though WIN, CTC and I believe CBN/CWN did. Not sure about NRN/RTN or MTN (TV guides further below)
It appears to be have been quietly rescinded as by January 1984, new TV rights were announced handing Saturday coverage back to the ABC (as per 2nd article below also from the SMH 24 January 1984). Though there was very little mention of it in the media as well, as it was only appeared to be announced in the article about referees!
The entire infamous March 24 1999 episode of The Footy Show, which ends with Sam Newman in blackface for the last segment, is now up on my youtube channel
Do you know about the programming eg in Newcastle on 3 “the world of rugby league” show late Saturday and Sunday nights? Did that show Newcastle and Sydney footy?
Also on Saturday 8 showing Sydney rugby league live at 2.40pm, with 9 showing one hour highlights of Parramatta v St George at 6.30pm - would this have also been the 2.40 live game?
Finally on Sunday 10 showing the “rank arena big game” at 6pm, with 8 showing rugby league match of the week highlights at 6.30pm - were they two different games?
You’ve got me thinking about what that NBN “World Of Rugby League” thing was - I don’t recall NBN ever showing Nine’s Saturday night game at all, but they always showed the 7-10 Sunday night replays.
Thanks re ECN showing it live - I must have missed that, as I never realised that any of the regionals took it live from Nine. It would have had to be that - can’t have been anything else?
The ECN Sunday night highlights was always the same game as Seven’s or Ten’s coverage.
I thought Bruce called Hawks-Crows in r21 but other than that, spot on, from watching either the AFL highlights show here in the states on Fox, or watching the games from the Name a Game VHS tapes. McAvaney/Dittmar on Port v ESS and Roberts/Robbo on HAW V CARL i do remember. I think Bruce and Chris also did Port V HAW during the finals.
Does anyone remember, particularly between 2006 and 2011, if Seven sent other talent from various stations to Melbourne Park?
Ross, Bath, McArdle, Damon, Cullen, Young, McGrath, Challenor, Ghidella, Welsh, Webcke to name some.
Obviously White was there as part of the telecasts and all of HSV (Mitchell, Keyte, Roberts who was already there on the coverage as well, Watson) presenting the news bulletins on-location from the Seven Sport ‘shipping container’ studio above Garden Square in front of RLA.
I recall for a time Kylie Gillies was there, think also Mark Beretta and not sure about Jim Wilson but he was there in later years. What about people like Michael Felgate, Rebecca Maddern, Tom Williams, Matt Carmichael? I can’t quite remember who used to do the courtside warm-up reporting prior to Nathan Templeton?
With news that Seven is ending its coverage of VFL (ex-VFA) football. Here is a flashback to when VFA made its first appearance for live telecasts on ATV0 in 1967
Sticking with the recent flavour… This was uploaded to the Tennis Rewind Collection on YT some days ago, from the 1st round of the 2007 Aus Open (original Seven tape too), a nice flashback!
Alicia Molik, returning after her horror 2006 with a serious ear infection which followed her amazing 2005 AO run, defeating the higher ranked Taipei rising star teenager Yun Jan Chan in a two set thriller which went down to a tiebreak.
Also features Michael Felgate, Jim Courier, Matthew White, Tracy Austin, Sandy Roberts and Roger Rasheed.
Does anybody know why Channel 9 eventually stopped doing the late night highlights of the cricket matches? Was it simply seen as unnecessary since they no longer had the local market blackouts?
Shame cause they were also good for those of us who were time poor and weren’t always able to sit down and watch a whole match at times. On a side note i think the Kayo Minis a good but a little too short.
I’ve thought they would have kept the highlights at least for test matches in Brisbane, Adeliade and Perth due to the conflicts with the news. It would have become unnecessary once Gem came along though.
