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oh my!, I just got home from work (I work evenings) and just read the news.
Good job AFANA, :-)
Finally Canadians have a good viable choice for footy. Getting Roger's Sportsnet to show Footy is a huge plus, as they are one of the two major Sports networks in Canada.
It's interesting how so many people in North America get Australian Rules Football confused with Rugby (Sportsnet included). I've had to explain this difference to so many people when I tell them of my interest in "Australian Rules Football". I guess people get confused because they are both 1) Popular in Australia 2) Contact Sports 3) Both use Oval balls. But then I have to tell them, "Australian Rules Football and Rugby are as different from each other as Hockey is from Basketball. They really have nothing to do with each other, they aren't even related to each other the way that Rugby is related to American Football".
Good job AFANA, :-)
Finally Canadians have a good viable choice for footy. Getting Roger's Sportsnet to show Footy is a huge plus, as they are one of the two major Sports networks in Canada.
It's interesting how so many people in North America get Australian Rules Football confused with Rugby (Sportsnet included). I've had to explain this difference to so many people when I tell them of my interest in "Australian Rules Football". I guess people get confused because they are both 1) Popular in Australia 2) Contact Sports 3) Both use Oval balls. But then I have to tell them, "Australian Rules Football and Rugby are as different from each other as Hockey is from Basketball. They really have nothing to do with each other, they aren't even related to each other the way that Rugby is related to American Football".
Posted by Young Nastyman on July 09, 2007
Finally :)
I was so excited when I found out Sportsnet got AFL coverage
made my day. And it's about time to I was getting tired of Sopcast and having no other source than internet radio and clips. Does anyone know how long the coverage will last and will they show the grand final?
made my day. And it's about time to I was getting tired of Sopcast and having no other source than internet radio and clips. Does anyone know how long the coverage will last and will they show the grand final?
Posted by admincms on July 09, 2007
Details will be posted as soon as we have them
Hi Hawkthorn,
The coverage should last for the duration of the season but that is yet to be confirmed to us by the AFL or Rogers. We also don't have word on the Grand Final and whether it will be live or taped. As soon as we get the details, we'll post them on our TV pages and put them in the TV and Media newsletter. We should know more very soon.
-Rob
The coverage should last for the duration of the season but that is yet to be confirmed to us by the AFL or Rogers. We also don't have word on the Grand Final and whether it will be live or taped. As soon as we get the details, we'll post them on our TV pages and put them in the TV and Media newsletter. We should know more very soon.
-Rob
Posted by mcpish on July 09, 2007
I just wanted to add...
I just wanted to add that I ended up watching it on Rogers Sportsnet HD.
I know there was a question about this in the latest email posting. The image is not widescreen HDTV, it's just simply the upconverted Setanta feed (4:3) like the other feeds.
That would be awesome though if they could ever get to the point of offering a full Widescreen version of the matches since i know that the original feeds ARE natively widescreen but have simply been cropped for North America.
The telecasts themselves worked perfectly, no excessive commercial breaks (only between quarters). This is now the best coverage in Canada since it's on a much more available network, Sportsnet vs Fox Sports World Canada. I hope they could get to the point of offering it LIVE but a 3hr time delay isn't bad at all.
Out of curiosity, how do we actually "get" these feeds? That is, how is it actually transmitted to North America? Does someone at Globecast have to have a setup in Australia to pickup the signal, then re-transmit it to multiple satellites or whatnot?
I know there was a question about this in the latest email posting. The image is not widescreen HDTV, it's just simply the upconverted Setanta feed (4:3) like the other feeds.
That would be awesome though if they could ever get to the point of offering a full Widescreen version of the matches since i know that the original feeds ARE natively widescreen but have simply been cropped for North America.
The telecasts themselves worked perfectly, no excessive commercial breaks (only between quarters). This is now the best coverage in Canada since it's on a much more available network, Sportsnet vs Fox Sports World Canada. I hope they could get to the point of offering it LIVE but a 3hr time delay isn't bad at all.
Out of curiosity, how do we actually "get" these feeds? That is, how is it actually transmitted to North America? Does someone at Globecast have to have a setup in Australia to pickup the signal, then re-transmit it to multiple satellites or whatnot?
Posted by admincms on July 09, 2007
A few details in response to your questions
We've updated the front page story to note that the HD feed is upconverted as we determined from other reports we received over the past few days. The original source is a 16:9 digital signal but it is not HD. The signal isn't cropped but rather the conversion process back to 4:3 aspect results in some loss of information at the edges.
Sportsnet will be the channel for 2007, it won't continue once Setanta Canada is up and operating. This is a "on-sell" deal designed to fulfill Setanta's obligation to get coverage into Canada until they can get their own channel working. That channel will have AFL coverage similar to the US coverage.
The signal is feed by fiber optic cable owned by Globecast and provided under contract to Setanta from Australia to Qatar and then on to London. Similar feeds supply the signal from the Setanta production center in the British Isles to the satellite uplink points in the US for DirecTV. In all probability, Sportsnet is taking the signal off DirecTV from Setanta US and then re-feeding it thru their system.
Sportsnet will be the channel for 2007, it won't continue once Setanta Canada is up and operating. This is a "on-sell" deal designed to fulfill Setanta's obligation to get coverage into Canada until they can get their own channel working. That channel will have AFL coverage similar to the US coverage.
The signal is feed by fiber optic cable owned by Globecast and provided under contract to Setanta from Australia to Qatar and then on to London. Similar feeds supply the signal from the Setanta production center in the British Isles to the satellite uplink points in the US for DirecTV. In all probability, Sportsnet is taking the signal off DirecTV from Setanta US and then re-feeding it thru their system.
Posted by mcpish on July 15, 2007
Sportsnet in a bloody rush to get the coverage over with tonight
They started the telecast of the Essendon vs. Bulldogs match about 2 seconds from the bounce, then as soon as the game is over, (literally a second after the final whistle) they cut the coverage off to go to some other show. They also added an extra commercial break in the middle of every quarter during points in the game which were not "natural breaks" which was quite annoying. Why not just have extra long breaks during quarter time breaks like they did last week? Broadcasters in Canada are only allowed a total of 12min/hour for commercials (this limit is being removed next year) so it makes no sense to break it up this way.
Posted by Swans500 on July 15, 2007
Sportsnet/Setanta.
Well, I feel fortunate, as I must say , the Setanta coverage here in the US has no commercials at all during the live games and always stays right up to the club song in the rooms 10 mins after games end.
A Swans fan, I have actually seen more Swans games here in Pittsburgh than I ever got when living in Perth!
A Swans fan, I have actually seen more Swans games here in Pittsburgh than I ever got when living in Perth!
Posted by admincms on July 15, 2007
Commercial breaks and edits on Sportsnet
My guess is that several issues are going on here. The first is that due to the fact they are capturing the feed "on the fly" and airing it a few hours later, the editing isn't all that well done. The cut off at the start and end of the match probably has little, if anything, to do with trying to rush to get it over with as the time slot doesn't vary. It is likely due to the need to fit the coverage into the 3 hour time slot as they edit on the run, so what you get are relatively crude cuts at the beginning and end. The insertion of commercial breaks at inappropriate points is probably due to either the editing or a lack of understanding of the game. This is one instance where we would suggest a politely worded message to Rogers offering an alternative approach wouldn't hurt. AFANA will, of course, take note of all of this and pass it along thru other channels.
Thanks for the great comments.
Thanks for the great comments.
Posted by rstevenson on August 05, 2007
Sunday morning scheduling problems
Hi folk,
Two weeks in a row now. Two weeks of Whoops! I guess that's all we got on the tape!
Before setting up the tape machine last night I carefully double-checked the times. AFANA and the Sportsnet site and the local cable provider's on-cable schedule all agreed: the match was to start at 4 am (AST) and go for 3 or maybe 3 1/2 hours. So I set the tape to start at 4 and end at 7:30 just to be safe.
This morning when I started the tape to watch the game I got *gambling term* from Ireland or something like that. Fast Forward for a while and finally discover the Fremantle/ WCE game starting at 5:30! Which means, I quickly calculated with a sinking feeling, that I was going to miss the last quarter. Sure enough, it was down to the last minute or so of the 3rd quarter when my tape stopped.
Can anyone advise on where I can find a used time machine so I can jump ahead and see when I should have taped the game?
Rob
Two weeks in a row now. Two weeks of Whoops! I guess that's all we got on the tape!
Before setting up the tape machine last night I carefully double-checked the times. AFANA and the Sportsnet site and the local cable provider's on-cable schedule all agreed: the match was to start at 4 am (AST) and go for 3 or maybe 3 1/2 hours. So I set the tape to start at 4 and end at 7:30 just to be safe.
This morning when I started the tape to watch the game I got *gambling term* from Ireland or something like that. Fast Forward for a while and finally discover the Fremantle/ WCE game starting at 5:30! Which means, I quickly calculated with a sinking feeling, that I was going to miss the last quarter. Sure enough, it was down to the last minute or so of the 3rd quarter when my tape stopped.
Can anyone advise on where I can find a used time machine so I can jump ahead and see when I should have taped the game?
Rob
