Ten have done a Steve Bradbury and as the last Free to Air Channel standing secured the broadcast rights for Australia for the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 after Nine and Seven both fell over while negotiating with the IOC.
You could hear the collective sigh of relief from Australia’s Winter Olympians who feared the best their potential podium placement would get in Australian media was an instagram pic from their own account, though that may not have happened either thanks to the strict IOC media rules.
TEN’s coup means that Foxtel is also out of the running as the TEN agreement signed with the IOC is for free-to-air, subscription television, internet and mobile phone. Looks like they just walked right in and took the lot while no one was looking.
I look forward to Tim Bailey getting his enthusiastic pearly whites around snyehk, the pronunciation of снег which is Russian for snow while Angela Bishop flicks her locks over Russia’s new wave syntho pop band Tesla Boy and Dave Hughes trying to explain the rules of a peace keeping AFL match between Checha and Russia.
All I can say is thank god it is being broadcast at all in a year that Australia is entering the Winter Olympics with our most successful World Cup and World Championship winter sports tallies to date. There’s no doubt that TEN will bring a much needed fresh approach to winter sports on television in Australia and I say bring….it…..on.
One thing I am praying for is a return of Roy & HG The Dream, last seen in winter terms at the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Who can forget their interview with Gold Medallist Steve Bradbury on The Ice Dream?
Perhaps they could bring back Russian Gold Medallist Alexai Yagudin who they interviewed in 2002?
And what about Australia’s Jenny Owens? The boys interviewed her as an alpine racer in 2001 and in 2014 they can chat to her about competing in Skier X.
It is time to start a petition, shout loud from the rooftops this winter season. Hashtag your instagrams and twitter with #bringbackthedream and join our Bring Back The Dream Facebook page.
We can do it Australia!
