Not sure I want to see a twitter feed during the game, but everything else seems like a breath of fresh air compare to nein..
http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/ch...e/news-story/d782cda085b1d8996dabbaefe6732b2f
CHANNEL 7 wants to take rugby league television broadcasting into the future.
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup broadcaster plans to build on Channel 9 and Fox League’s world class NRL broadcasts — and they have weapons up their sleeve to take the rugby league television experience to the next level when the tournament kicks off on Friday with the Kangaroos taking on England at AAMI Park.
Seven’s head of sport Saul Shtein has revealed the key areas where the network believes it can transform rugby league into a national broadcast event.
The network has already committed to showing matches live into Melbourne on Seven’s primary channel and are committed to broadcasting the Kangaroos matches live into Adelaide and Perth on its 7mate platform.
The gamechanger is the Network’s 7Live app, which show every match of the tournament live.
“This is the new world,” Shtein told news.com.au.
“It’s not just on Channel 7, it’s on the screens of Seven. This is the changing world and we’re embracing it.”
It may be the gamechanger, but it is also just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how Seven’s coverage plans to improve on Nine’s iconic NRL coverage.
THE COMMENTARY TEAM
SEVEN has been busy behind the scenes building a star-studded line-up for the Rugby League World Cup — all while being locked out of recruiting NRL identities tied to Fox League and Channel 9.
Shtein says the network is thrilled to have headhunted a war chest of rugby league commentary talent to be headlined by former NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley and Seven News personality Jim Wilson.
Their line-up includes Benji Marshall, Mark Geyer, Brett Kimmorley, Gary Belcher, Ryan Girdler, Scott Sattler and Andrew Ryan and Brent Tate.
The play-by-play commentary will be provided by Seven regular Mark Braybook and popular rugby league radio callers Andrew Moore and Dan Ginnane.
Mel McLaughlin, Renee Gartner and Allana Ferguson will also feature as commentators and presenters throughout the tournament.
Shtein says the network has worked hard to build a team that is not “too blokey” and will appeal to a wider family audience.
“Importantly, for us, it’s one thing to say this guy is a great athlete, but it doesn’t mean that it translates into them being a good commentator,” he said.
“It still comes down to your communication and analysis. One of the things with our commentary team is that we wanted a team that commentates well together – how they are going to work with their play by play commentators and their other commentators?
“You have to remember a number of the high profile and experienced commentators and even production crew are working for Fox or for Nine and aren’t available, but there are plenty of other very experienced operators both in front of and behind the cameras that we believe will be at least on par with what Australian viewers are used to seeing.”
BRINGING THE AFL BROADCAST STYLE TO RUGBY LEAGUE
CHANNEL 7’s AFL broadcasts remain the envy of sport-programming in Australia and the network is hoping to bring a key part of its AFL colour to the Rugby League World Cup and the Women’s Rugby League World Cup.
Shtein says Channel 7 is committed to giving viewers a greater broadcast experience by making their coverage about much more than what is happening on the field.
The impact of social media in sport means many viewers are reaching for their phones to check Twitter during play — Seven wants to bring the social media experience to its live telecasts.
The network plans to bring social media posts and conversations to its broadcast through its commentary team and graphics.
“It’s a different way of presenting the full coverage because there is more going on then what’s on the screen,” he said.
“What’s happening on social media? What are people talking about? Already in the AFL, if an incident happens, players watching at home get on social media and talk about it. That’s what people want.”
The network’s other strategy to bring a greater experience to live rugby league coverage is its commitment to attracting a wider audience.
The network makes no apology for its decision to style its coverage towards potential rugby league newcomers.
It plans to build interest in the tournament with a simple mantra of focusing on presenting the characters in matches that will engage people into watching them compete.
“It’s important that we actually explain to people, who might not even be NRL fans, who the characters are,” he said.
“They are not robots, they are people with personalities.
“Our job as a broadcaster is to broaden the appeal and grow the audience.”
Seven also promises to have all the usual “bells and whistles” technologies that feature in Channel 9’s and Fox League’s coverage, including referee cam and spider cam.
“Rugby league coverage in Australia is at a world class standard,” Shtein said of its network rivals.
“We’re extremely confident that we will at least be on par with what we have planned.”
