We want Big Brother to watch sometimes

“Claims of Australian-biased television coverage of the Commonwealth Games have sparked controversy [in Australia]” says this article on Stuff.

Smaller nations, such as the Isle of Man (yes!), have been complaining about not getting to see medal ceremonies. The Isle of Man won its first gold medal in 20 years but claims that the medal award ceremony wasn’t shown because there were no Aussie medallists (given their current medal tally I find that hard to believe). Games chairman Ron Walker says it’s not the case (which means it probably is) but that they have implemented changes so that it won’t happen again.

We were talking about this the other night while taping our podcast (The Dropkicks: The world’s first southern hemisphere rugby podcast [plug plug plug]). In this current age of technology where I can get real-time image feeds of downtown Paris (France) from my desk in Wellington (New Zealand). But for some reason I can’t see the sports and ceremonies that I want to at an event that is COVERED in cameras! Hell even Zanzibar has a webcam!

TVNZ has free video on it’s website but this is just the coverage that would have on TV which has the same problem of being Aussie-centric (I also can’t watch it at work).

Kiwis haven’t had it so bad because we tend to be good at sports that Aussies are also good. That is to say we are lucky to see the games, not necessarily win them. The Aussies have to pay it seems for their web coverage, but I don’t think that they’ll be complaining too much.

Our idea (which, naturally, means that it is the best one) is to have all the cameras at the games going (which they always are) capturing the various events from various angles. Then have all of those feeds available for TV stations to pick from.

So, for example, TVNZ would pay $X for footage from X events can get to pick which camera feeds it wants and when. So if TVNZ wants to cut from swimming to cycling then they just have to change it themselves without having to put up with what the local Aussie channel wants. You could also offer packages to particular broadcasters (like Isle of Man TV) that could be cheaper and more specific (like showing that bloody ceremony).

You could probably make more money this way, and everyone would be happier. Remember the 2000 Olympics when the Kiwis came into the opening ceremony and the footage cut to ads?

Now if only we could actually win some bloody medals!!!