Opinion: What’s wrong with televised NRL and how to fix it

“If I was a market investigator my experience would tell me that big changes are what is needed not some wishy, washy, band aid application and with the changes will come success.”

Wally Lewis and Peter Sterling, who recently stepped down from his commentary duties at Channel 9.

When it comes to sport on TV channel 9 were for years the leaders in this field.

The reason for that was their boss Kerry Packer.

He was a hard man to please as he demanded top flight performances from his team.

So what happened to his principles? I guess that they must have died when he left.

A classic case of this demise was the NRL commentary team.

We viewers have complained to empty ears for years regarding the NSW biased commentary but finally we the viewers just might have a victory in sight.

The management at 9 have finally realised that their flag ship is in trouble with the ratings showing a big viewer turn off.

So the powers that be have decided to overhaul their commentary team by sacking most of the oldies, mainly oldies in years not necessarily in terms of service.

So, this is a good move, is it really?

The best move that could be made has not yet come to the surface.

That move would be to terminate all of the personnel including production staff and start again.

Start thinking outside of the square channel 9 and look deeper into what is wrong with your telecasts by revisiting your own past.

How about you start with providing us with when they happen game statistics, player changes, refereeing stuff ups, what penalties are for, to name just a few of your problem areas.

Then add a commentary team that just calls the game as it is played not refereed, with none of the bias of the favourite team of the commentator.

Then how about we have a balanced group spread evenly over the two states.

Why not conduct a poll to let the viewers pick three from each state with the nominated selection leaving out controversial past commentators?

In other words have some new blood.

It should be obvious that there are many well spoken and intelligent candidates amongst recently retired players as they are not in the old days, just dumb footballer category.

Perhaps you should have a rotating team not a fixed one.

Finally use your power at the negotiating table with the NRL to get rid of some of the ridiculous new rule changes that are destroying our game.

It would be a good move to have Rugby League people running the game not interlopers.

The direction that we should be heading is upward not the present spiral downwards.

All of these things make what is wrong with our televised game and the same goes to the Fox outfit.

If I was a market investigator my experience would tell me that big changes are what is needed not some wishy, washy, band aid application and with the changes will come success.

Be tough on yourself channel 9 first and foremost use the old Kerry Packer principle that excellence is the only acceptable outcome.

Bob Henderson, Sharon

Originally published as Opinion: What’s wrong with televised NRL and how to fix it