What’s the Buzz: Channel Nine’s NRL commentary team to call Las Vegas games from Australia

It was one of the most watched NRL season-openers in recent memory. But the NRL’s free-to-air broadcaster has decided to not call the highly-anticipated games from Las Vegas.

Danika Mason is part of a small team attending for Nine’s coverage.

Channel 9 and the ABC have grounded their commentary teams for the NRL’s blockbuster season opener in Las Vegas.

For the second year, Nine’s Matt Thompson will inexplicably be calling the action from a TV screen at Nine’s North Sydney studios.

This is quite outrageous from the network that spent a fortune sending a cast of thousands to the Olympics in Paris last year.

So much for being the NRL’s official free-to-air broadcast partner.

Not even James Bracey, who hosts all major sporting events for the network, will be there.

Now here’s my disclaimer … your columnist is on the payroll at Fox Sports, a network that admittedly has also called regular season games off the TV from the studios to save costs.

But never for an event of this magnitude.

Heavyweight Channel 9 host James Bracey will be left at home.

Fox Sports will cover all four games from Las Vegas and beam the Matty Johns Show and NRL 360 episodes back into Australia.

Nine is at least sending Karl Stefanovic across to co-host the today show. They will also have Danika Mason, Paul Gallen and Johnathan Thurston at the game.

The ABC has also decided against sending a team to Vegas, giving a free kick to Triple M and 2GB, who’ll be calling from Allegiant Stadium.

We approached the ABC to ask why.

“Remote commentary is a practice increasingly adopted by broadcasters globally, across every code of sport,” a spokesperson said.

“Advances in broadcasting technology allow us to maintain the immediacy and quality our listeners expect, while ensuring we remain vigilant with public resources.

“The ABC has increased our schedule of live sport on our audio network in the last 12 months and we are conscious of adopting processes that will allow us to continue to provide Australians with access to this breadth of sport.”

Originally published as What’s the Buzz: Channel Nine’s NRL commentary team to call Las Vegas games from Australia