Channel 9 - worst yet
We must all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately
Well maybe the morons at Channel 9 will change the way they treat Rugby League fans in Victoria following the release of thr Grand Final ratings in Melbourne. Very positive indeed!!!
THIS is the story every league fan living south of the border should cut out, fold up and pop in the wallet for the next visit down the pub: The NRL Grand Final was more popular on TV than the AFL Grand Final.
In figures that will have Andrew Demetriou choking on his next footy frank, the NRL blockbuster on Sunday outrated the AFL equivalent two weeks ago by more than 200,000 footy fans across Australia.
The combined national and regional TV audience figures for the Geelong Cats v St Kilda Grand Final, spruiked at the time by the code's boss Demetriou as a benchmark, averaged 3.4 million.
Gallery: Best action pics
Gallery: Crowd madness
But the league finale went better, attracting an average 3.6 million people across the country.
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Related Coverage
Storm players celebrate 2009 title
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It is a staggering result for league and Channel 9, which won the ratings night, and defied the year's off-field dramas, which in June sidelined Nine's own Matthew Johns in the wake of the Cronulla group sex scandal.
While it's only taken four Grand Final appearances for two victories, Melbourne footy fans in particular appear to have finally seen the light on league, with the AFL stronghold thunderstruck by the Storm and Parramatta Eels decider.
Nine's coverage consolidated the code's footing south of the border, where the audience peaked at 925,000 viewers.
In a confidence-lifting victory for the game's administrators, the Melbourne market averaged 685,000 viewers, up from 492,000 last year.
The average five capital city audience of 2.42 million - up 342,000 nationally on 2008 - was the network's best ratings result in 2009.
An exuberant NRL chief executive David Gallop yesterday celebrated the results as "a huge show of public support for rugby league".
"Congratulations to Melbourne on winning two premierships in three years, to Parramatta for providing one of the greatest runs to a Grand Final and to all the fans who shared the experience," he said.
The growth in television ratings in 2009 "underlines the opportunities that lie ahead" for the competition, Gallop said.
It was a reasonably low-key welcome home for the Storm, with around 50 fans greeting them at Melbourne Airport yesterday ahead of the team's presentation to several hundred more at Princes Park.
More fans are expected for a civic reception today in Melbourne's Federation Square.
Skipper Cameron Smith raised the trophy and managed a reasonable impersonation of sports commentator Bruce McAvaney when asked how the celebrations had been following the Grand Final win.
"We had a couple of quiet beers with the boys and our families - just a couple ... and they were delicious," Smith said, attempting to mimic McAvaney's recent AFL commentary when he described a play from Hawks star Cyril Rioli as "delicious".
Centre Greg Inglis told the cheering crowd of his match-sealing field goal: "I just got the ball and kicked it, I snapped it low and flat and said 'please get over'."
"I've got a (premiership) ring. We've done a really good job."
The Storm had dual cause to celebrate after the club's under 20 side won the Toyota Cup grand final, with the team also presented to the crowd at the family day.
THIS is the story every league fan living south of the border should cut out, fold up and pop in the wallet for the next visit down the pub: The NRL Grand Final was more popular on TV than the AFL Grand Final.
In figures that will have Andrew Demetriou choking on his next footy frank, the NRL blockbuster on Sunday outrated the AFL equivalent two weeks ago by more than 200,000 footy fans across Australia.
The combined national and regional TV audience figures for the Geelong Cats v St Kilda Grand Final, spruiked at the time by the code's boss Demetriou as a benchmark, averaged 3.4 million.
Gallery: Best action pics
Gallery: Crowd madness
But the league finale went better, attracting an average 3.6 million people across the country.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage
Storm players celebrate 2009 title
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
It is a staggering result for league and Channel 9, which won the ratings night, and defied the year's off-field dramas, which in June sidelined Nine's own Matthew Johns in the wake of the Cronulla group sex scandal.
While it's only taken four Grand Final appearances for two victories, Melbourne footy fans in particular appear to have finally seen the light on league, with the AFL stronghold thunderstruck by the Storm and Parramatta Eels decider.
Nine's coverage consolidated the code's footing south of the border, where the audience peaked at 925,000 viewers.
In a confidence-lifting victory for the game's administrators, the Melbourne market averaged 685,000 viewers, up from 492,000 last year.
The average five capital city audience of 2.42 million - up 342,000 nationally on 2008 - was the network's best ratings result in 2009.
An exuberant NRL chief executive David Gallop yesterday celebrated the results as "a huge show of public support for rugby league".
"Congratulations to Melbourne on winning two premierships in three years, to Parramatta for providing one of the greatest runs to a Grand Final and to all the fans who shared the experience," he said.
The growth in television ratings in 2009 "underlines the opportunities that lie ahead" for the competition, Gallop said.
It was a reasonably low-key welcome home for the Storm, with around 50 fans greeting them at Melbourne Airport yesterday ahead of the team's presentation to several hundred more at Princes Park.
More fans are expected for a civic reception today in Melbourne's Federation Square.
Skipper Cameron Smith raised the trophy and managed a reasonable impersonation of sports commentator Bruce McAvaney when asked how the celebrations had been following the Grand Final win.
"We had a couple of quiet beers with the boys and our families - just a couple ... and they were delicious," Smith said, attempting to mimic McAvaney's recent AFL commentary when he described a play from Hawks star Cyril Rioli as "delicious".
Centre Greg Inglis told the cheering crowd of his match-sealing field goal: "I just got the ball and kicked it, I snapped it low and flat and said 'please get over'."
"I've got a (premiership) ring. We've done a really good job."
The Storm had dual cause to celebrate after the club's under 20 side won the Toyota Cup grand final, with the team also presented to the crowd at the family day.
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steaming stormer
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Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Demetriou!
Now, get us some decent coverage channel 9!
Now, get us some decent coverage channel 9!
Storming our way to glory!
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I spoke to programming at Channel None. This is what they said in response to my queries:
- Why was Under 20s not on instead of 1953 movie Mogambo? Not commercially viable, better ratings for Mogambo than the Under 20s. I replied by saying the ratings at 2pm on one Sunday afternoon wasn't going to be the difference between winning and losing the ratings.
- Why were the presentations not shown? The news was already late starting. I replied by saying that the news in Qld and NSW would have been delayed further for the presentations. Programming responded by saying Victoria is not a rugby league state.
- Programming also noted that at least the Grand Final was live. I said bewdy we get two games live (match v Broncos as well) and the rest are after midnight.
- Programming also said that State of Origin II was on live and was outrated by Masterchef (what program wasn't?)
- Programming also noted that on a number of occasions Nine had shown matches in earlier timeslots and the matches haven't rated against AFL and that there were only 1,000 fans to welcome players back on Monday, which when compared to the AFL clubs of tens of thousands turning up to the celebrations of their clubs is very small.
- I suggested that they should show it on one of their digital channels and she said it would be a number of years before programming on the other digital channels was different to the main channel, but she would take on board the suggestion.
- I also asked about Channel None's obligation to promote the game in Victoria. I said that I was born and bred in Victoria and the only reason I became interested in the game is because in the 80s and early 90s the ABC replayed the match of the day nationally on Sunday morning at 10am (a family friendly timeslot) and the best way to grow the game was to have some half decent free-to-air coverage. I didn't get much of a response to that.
Once again no love from Channel None, although the girl I spoke to said she was from the northern states originally and showed some empathy.
- Why was Under 20s not on instead of 1953 movie Mogambo? Not commercially viable, better ratings for Mogambo than the Under 20s. I replied by saying the ratings at 2pm on one Sunday afternoon wasn't going to be the difference between winning and losing the ratings.
- Why were the presentations not shown? The news was already late starting. I replied by saying that the news in Qld and NSW would have been delayed further for the presentations. Programming responded by saying Victoria is not a rugby league state.
- Programming also noted that at least the Grand Final was live. I said bewdy we get two games live (match v Broncos as well) and the rest are after midnight.
- Programming also said that State of Origin II was on live and was outrated by Masterchef (what program wasn't?)
- Programming also noted that on a number of occasions Nine had shown matches in earlier timeslots and the matches haven't rated against AFL and that there were only 1,000 fans to welcome players back on Monday, which when compared to the AFL clubs of tens of thousands turning up to the celebrations of their clubs is very small.
- I suggested that they should show it on one of their digital channels and she said it would be a number of years before programming on the other digital channels was different to the main channel, but she would take on board the suggestion.
- I also asked about Channel None's obligation to promote the game in Victoria. I said that I was born and bred in Victoria and the only reason I became interested in the game is because in the 80s and early 90s the ABC replayed the match of the day nationally on Sunday morning at 10am (a family friendly timeslot) and the best way to grow the game was to have some half decent free-to-air coverage. I didn't get much of a response to that.
Once again no love from Channel None, although the girl I spoke to said she was from the northern states originally and showed some empathy.
Good stuff Scooter.
However, I do not think it's ('s job to promote RL in Victoria. That's the job of the NRL in insisting the winner of its broadcast rights show the games down here.
It's 9's obligation to do well in ratings and therefore generate advertising revenue. It's not their job to promote any sporting code at all.
And no I don't work for the pricks, I hate 9 as much as anyone.
Blame the NRL for being spineless.
However, I do not think it's ('s job to promote RL in Victoria. That's the job of the NRL in insisting the winner of its broadcast rights show the games down here.
It's 9's obligation to do well in ratings and therefore generate advertising revenue. It's not their job to promote any sporting code at all.
And no I don't work for the pricks, I hate 9 as much as anyone.
Blame the NRL for being spineless.
2012 premiers. Legit.
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Insomniac
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Quoting myself, I know, but I just read this:Insomniac wrote: I still haven't seen a clear replay of that incident as yet, but I was certain that another Eels player (not Moi Moi) came through and knocked the ball out of Billy's hands with his knee/leg (thus not clearing the ruck properly). But I know the ref has apparently come out and said it was for holding on too long...
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... public_rss
I love that "I told you so" feeling...Contentious penalty supported by NRL referees boss Robert Finch
By Christian Nicolussi (October 07, 2009)
The contentious grand final penalty against Fuifui Moimoi took another twist on Tuesday with NRL referees boss Robert Finch declaring: "I would have penalised Kevin Kingston."
Parramatta fans were filthy with Tony Archer's 76th-minute howler to penalise Moimoi for not releasing Melbourne fullback Billy Slater.
But Finch said "it was quite clear on the replay" that Kingston had knocked the ball out of Slater's hands with his knee as he tried to run back into the defensive line.
Similar incidents throughout the season resulted in the referee ruling a lose carry against the attacker and ordering a scrum.
Replays showed Moimoi and Todd Lowrie in the tackle and a desperate Kingston trying to retreat.
Already a sore point with Eels fans, Finch stirred the pot by suggesting Parramatta could have trailed by more in the first half after a late shot on Greg Inglis was missed.
"From what I have seen, it's quite clear that the player running back (Kingston) knocks the ball out of Slater's hands with his left knee," Finch said.
"If the tackle is completed you must clear the ruck. And if a player knocks the ball out of another player's hands when he hasn't cleared that ruck, it's a penalty - that's a penalty any day of the week. Also, the player (Todd Lowrie) comes back and puts his hands on Slater when the tackle is completed.
"I think it's unfair to single out one incident. In the first half Greg Inglis was taken high and late after a kick and instead of Parramatta getting a 20m restart, Melbourne could have had two points (courtesy of a penalty goal)."
Finch stressed he was yet to officially review the game. He would study the season-deciding blockbuster next week.
Archer's penalty, which continued to be hotly disputed by league fans on Tuesday, allowed the Storm to march down field and eventually slot the winning field goal to put the match beyond doubt.
Archer originally signalled the ball had been stripped from Slater. He then ruled Moimoi failed to release the fullback.
Video referee Bill Harrigan had also not reviewed the match, but said Archer quickly made it clear the penalty was for failing to release Slater.
Moimoi said after the game: "I was disappointed with the decision, but it's a grand final and that's how it is. You can't argue with the referees."
Look I hate Channel 9, because their absolute pricks in what they have done lima lima lima duck all for RL in Victoria. However, the bottom line is that the NRL have done lima lima lima duck all in trying to expand the game into Victoria. Other than have the Storm in Victoria, they have been very complacent in helping the game expand in the state by way of 1) Not giving the Storm any salary cap exemptions (like what they AFL do with the Swans and Lions in the northern states). 2) Not enforcing games to be telecast into Melbourne at decent times.....again very different to what the AFL have done in the northern states, where Channel 10 is contractually obliged to scren games despite the fact that the games rate poorly and the network is losing money in a big way. Why did NRL not take the same approach with Victoria if they're serious about growing and expanding the game in the state????? The reality remains that the popularity of the game has evolved in Victoria the hard way - through Storm's on-field success and through the club's marketing and promotions. Bottom line is the NRL have alot to answer for.........
In response to the maggot that Scooter spoke to at Channel 9, here are my come backs to her points:-
1. Presentations were not shown because Victoria is nota RL state: Sure, but the GF was a ratings winner at 925,000 viewers in Melbourne..........how can yoy possibly not show the presentations when your home city is in the GFand is attracting those sorts of numbers???
2. Doubt very much that Masterchef outrated Origin II......I think that's bullshit!
3. Not a fair comparison when comparing tens of 1000s of fans to welcome back AFL teams from the GF (ie. in Geelong) with the Storm's one or so thousand because AFL GF played on a Saturday, so the welcome back home is on a Sunday where no one has to work. With the NRL, GF is on a Sunday and Storm boys only returned on Monday, as most people had to work...............so her logic was clearly wrong!!!!!
4. I can understand 9 not showing games on a friday nite at 8.30pm, as these games' ratings woul be destroyed by the AFL ratings..................but coul some one please tell me why Channel 9 dont screen the Sunday afternoon game at 3pm??????????? ?This time is not a critical time slot and i would cut my neck off if ntl games didn't get better ratings then re-runs of the Gilmore Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, the good sign is that the NRL GF ratings were over 900,000 viewers ...an increase of 200,000 viewers on previous years......and the fact that there were thousands of supporters at fed square for the civic reception can only suggest the start of many good things to come...........................long live the Storm!!!!
In response to the maggot that Scooter spoke to at Channel 9, here are my come backs to her points:-
1. Presentations were not shown because Victoria is nota RL state: Sure, but the GF was a ratings winner at 925,000 viewers in Melbourne..........how can yoy possibly not show the presentations when your home city is in the GFand is attracting those sorts of numbers???
2. Doubt very much that Masterchef outrated Origin II......I think that's bullshit!
3. Not a fair comparison when comparing tens of 1000s of fans to welcome back AFL teams from the GF (ie. in Geelong) with the Storm's one or so thousand because AFL GF played on a Saturday, so the welcome back home is on a Sunday where no one has to work. With the NRL, GF is on a Sunday and Storm boys only returned on Monday, as most people had to work...............so her logic was clearly wrong!!!!!
4. I can understand 9 not showing games on a friday nite at 8.30pm, as these games' ratings woul be destroyed by the AFL ratings..................but coul some one please tell me why Channel 9 dont screen the Sunday afternoon game at 3pm??????????? ?This time is not a critical time slot and i would cut my neck off if ntl games didn't get better ratings then re-runs of the Gilmore Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, the good sign is that the NRL GF ratings were over 900,000 viewers ...an increase of 200,000 viewers on previous years......and the fact that there were thousands of supporters at fed square for the civic reception can only suggest the start of many good things to come...........................long live the Storm!!!!
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CooperCronk
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I think we should be ringing/writing to NRL headquarters in Sydney and voicing our disappointment.
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pauliedude
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It was great listening to SEN last night (Tuesday).
Some great comments from callers. Probably people from this forum?? Probably others?
Its funny I didnt pick up the biasness of the Nein commentators at the time. I guess I was either tuning them out or was just too busy sitting on the edge of the couch focused on the vision.
But the hour on SEN is proving quite good listening. I cant wait for next year if it continues.
Some great comments from callers. Probably people from this forum?? Probably others?
Its funny I didnt pick up the biasness of the Nein commentators at the time. I guess I was either tuning them out or was just too busy sitting on the edge of the couch focused on the vision.
But the hour on SEN is proving quite good listening. I cant wait for next year if it continues.
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pauliedude
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Ive emailed them several times via the "contact us" link on the NRL web site, which I think from memory has the NSWRL address and I have never had a reply.CooperCronk wrote: I think we should be ringing/writing to NRL headquarters in Sydney and voicing our disappointment.
Now I know why I keep getting all those annoying viagra emails. Its because now they have my email address!
I know I shouldn't. You know I shouldn't.
God knows I shouldn't.
Come to think of it there are undiscovered tribes in the deepest Amazon who know I shouldn't
But I can't resist.
God knows I shouldn't.
Come to think of it there are undiscovered tribes in the deepest Amazon who know I shouldn't
But I can't resist.
Are you implying that the NRL management are basically just a bunch of soft cocks?pauliedude wrote: Now I know why I keep getting all those annoying viagra emails. Its because now they have my email address!
We must all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately
Deffo a full team of dimp licks 
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CooperCronk
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Here are a couple of phone nos. that might help :pauliedude wrote:Ive emailed them several times via the "contact us" link on the NRL web site, which I think from memory has the NSWRL address and I have never had a reply.CooperCronk wrote: I think we should be ringing/writing to NRL headquarters in Sydney and voicing our disappointment.
Now I know why I keep getting all those annoying viagra emails. Its because now they have my email address!
NRL Headquarters in Sydney : 02/9339 8500
Ch.9 in Sydney : 02/9906 9999
P O Box 27
Willoughby NSW 2068
A 5 minute call to Sydney only cost me roughly $1.40.
Put through to a couple of different depts. till I got the right one, but they were impressed that callers from Melbourne rang in.
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pauliedude
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Maybe Johnny Howard can shake a few things up!
