No winners as NRL, cricket clash catches out Channel 9
Michael Chammas
SMH
February 7, 2012
CRICKET AUSTRALIA and the NRL are set to go to war over Friday night prime time on March 2.
Channel Nine is yet to decide whether to broadcast the round one NRL match between the Eels and the Broncos at Parramatta Stadium or the one-day cricket international between Australia and Sri Lanka at the MCG on its main digital channel in NSW and Queensland.
Both Cricket Australia and the NRL expect their matches to be shown live on the main channel, leaving the network with a huge decision as it prepares to upset one of its big ratings winners.
Nine's director of sport, Steve Crawley, said it was undecided which sport would be relegated to the secondary channel, GEM.
''There's a few things we're trying to work out,'' Crawley said. ''We're in no real rush.''
The scheduling clash will cause tension between Nine and one of the two sporting bodies, and it will rob thousands of NSW and Queensland viewers of their sport of choice because their analog televisions will be unable to pick up the GEM broadcast.
The NRL's decision to start its lengthened season a week earlier than usual, as well as the reintroduction of cricket's one-day tri-series, has brought about the unprecedented clash..
NRL football operations director Nathan McGuirk said he was confident the Parramatta-Brisbane match would be shown live on Nine in NSW and Queensland.
''We've had discussions with Channel Nine on this issue, and we understand they still have some scheduling issues which they still have to finalise,'' McGuirk said. ''But we're confident it won't be affecting the live broadcast of our match.
''Channel Nine haven't indicated to us that [a switch to GEM] is going to occur. At this stage, we're confident that the live broadcast of our Friday night match between Parramatta and Brisbane will be unaffected in Sydney and Brisbane.''
CA is also confident it won't cop the raw end of the deal.
''Channel Nine haven't given us any advice of any departure from their previous tradition with the Australian team and 50-over games,'' CA spokesman Peter Young said. ''There is a particular and unique chemistry between Channel Nine and Cricket Australia that goes back the best part of 30 years. I don't know what the contract says but
I'm imagining it would oblige them to provide us with a national telecast.''
The clash between Australia and Sri Lanka, the last game of the tri-series before the finals, is a day-nighter that will be aired on the main channel at least until 7.30pm.
Regardless of whether it is moved to GEM when the league kicks off, the cricket will remain on Nine's main channel in every state except NSW and Queensland.
The third final of the tri-series - if needed - is scheduled for Thursday, March 8, at Adelaide Oval, giving Channel Nine another dilemma on what channel to air The Footy Show, which could start at a pivotal moment in the last hour of the final.
The NRL has already made a number of agreements with Channel Nine to avoid any further clashes with the cricket.
It announced a stand-alone Thursday night season-opener between Wayne Bennett's Newcastle Knights and his former club St George Illawarra, scheduling the season's first episode of The Footy Show after the match.
And to avoid a clash with the first one-day final at the Gabba on Sunday, March 4, it has moved away from its regular 4pm delayed telecast and instead will broadcast the match between Manly and the Warriors at Eden Park live at noon, just in time for the cricket to start.
NRL boss David Gallop last week played down claims that the hype surrounding the start of the NRL season would be lost because of a clash with cricket's one-day series.
''Talking to people over the summer, people can't wait for the rugby league to start,'' he said. ''I think the Thursday night game between the Dragons and the Knights is going to be a great way to start the season.''
