Has the channel 7 coverage of the olympics lived up to expectations and hype ?

Question

I have been an avid watcher of Beijing 2008 however i have found the Channel 7 coverage to be extremely frustrating. Besides the lack of clear scheduling detail, the lack of coverage across a range of sports has been disappointing.

Yesterday (21 Aug) was an unfortunate example. We get unending coverage of the womens 20km walk which would have been great had we been watching Jane Saville, but we weren't. Every so often we crossed to the men's 10km swim where we had a medal chance sitting in the top pack the whole time. the Melissa Wu diving semi was a delayed telecast (pse tell us)...the website had the rounds published well before the telecast finished. Was it delayed to cover the Brazil/US beach volleyball ?? And then, after a fantastic effort by the women's water polo, we only see the last two girls get their bronze medals...this would have been bitterly disappointing for the families back home. Those games that are covered in full (some basketball) suffer from ads being on for the first minute or so of quarters...it doesn't happen with the AFL coverage. And what of some of the rowing coverage where we joined live races part way through ?

Have Channel 7 thought of split screening telecasts....if they must talk while events are on, then at least show them in a small screen simultaneously.....or show two events together.

The continual ads are an accepted evil of sponsorship requirements however here are a few thoughts for those who sponsor: saturation advertising wears thin after a short time. I won't be changing to Commonwealth or Bendigo banks in a hurry nor going out to buy Red Rooster. I would give more credit to an organisation that allowed coverage to continue ..that is, paid for space but kept the coverage running and have it recognised as such: (flyers, under the screen scrolls, watermarks etc)

SBS has not been blessed with the big sports, but at least you get the whole thing (cyclingtim etrial, road race, water polo etc). Come on Channel 7 you can do better...the olympics is about the competition, the competitors, the drama, the tragedy...not the commentators and sideline experts.

Answer 1

Very good post, agree completely with the comments made already.

I think the viewing public is justified in being disappointed with the coverage.

SBS has done a wonderful job, given the obvious limitations of the sports they have been allowed to show. I would say that if channel seven had allowed SBS to share more of the sports, then it have enabled a better overall coverage.

Answer 2

I agree whole heartedly with your view on Channel 7's Olympic coverage. While I think it's warranted that our gold medal winning athletes receive the exposure that comes with winning a gold medal, what happened to covering our other athletes? Maybe the families back here in Australia that haven't witnessed their family members dream being realised due to Channel 7's poor scheduling could contact Stephanie Rice's family to discover how enjoyable it was & how proud they felt when watching EVERY MINUTE of her Olympic events. Alicia Coutts also competed in the Women's 200 metre Individual Medley, however, Channel 7 didn't think her performance rated an interview after her race. Why?? Could it be that Stephanie Rice won the gold medal in this event??

I was beginning to wonder if Stephanie Rice was an Official Olympic Sponsor. Or if Michael Phelps was actually an Australian Citizen??

Another example of Channel 7's poor Olympic coverage was the constant replaying of the unfortunate Columbian weightlifter, Oscar Figueroa. Wasn't this coverage during his actual competition embarrassing enough for this poor guy?? Congratulations Channel 7 for making his failed Olympic dream one of your highest covered moments. Perhaps none of our 433 strong team were competing during the countless times Channel 7 showed this??

Maybe it's time that Channel 7 started listening to what their viewers want rather than the almighty sponsorship dollar.

I for one will be hesitant to watch the London 2012 coverage should Channel 7 retain the Olympic rights.

Answer 3

I could agree more with your comments.

The coverage has been pathetic.

How much have we actually seen "LIVE". Other than the swimming.

There has been no accurate times for any of the events so we are none the wiser if they are shown live or not.

I'm sick of seeing the Track and Field replays...alot that do not include any Australians while we know that other events are taking place which include the aussies.

What happened to the diving last night with Melissa Wu??

Channel 7 was replaying the track and field again.

From what I can gather from other websites there has been very few "live" medal ceromonies.

Who are we trying to please??

Answer 4

I haven't watched too much of the Olympics except on SBS and Fox Sports News. A problem with telecasting the Olympics is the advertising dollars. Regardless of what Seven may want, the events telecasted are often determined by what events the advertisers want their ads in.

Answer 5

Totally! even with delayed telecasts, they split the events up. one minute you're watching the first round of 10m platform diving, next minute it's hockey, and after 20 mins you get some random track heat and then it's basketball... of course in between all these were thousands of ads...

And can I say some (i'm not generalising) of the commentators shouldn't even be talking... They are doing a terrible job and you just can't help but cringe every you hear their "opinions"... I just wish viewers aren't gullible enough.