Bloggers attack Cup telecast

New Delhi, May 2: The Indian cricket fan would want to forget the just-concluded World Cup as a nightmare but the double whammy of the national team’s shocking exit and atrocious TV coverage would leave bitter memories for a long, long time.

Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh, who was in India during the World Cup, gave vent to his disgust by stating that the telecast in India was "unwatchable".

"It is annoying, ridiculous and an insult to the game to see an advertisement being squeezed in just because the bowler has not reached the top of his run-up," the Australian great wrote in a newspaper column, cautioning that "somebody needs to protect the game from becoming devalued in this manner". Angry cricket fans are going online to flay SET Max for its TV coverage. But the a spokesperson for the channel said, "We showed the whole game. The advertisements were shown at the end of an over".

Bloggers have accused the channel of robbing the viewers’ pleasure with its "senseless timing" of ads to make "a little extra money".

"How else do you explain them showing an ad when the bowler is setting his field and cutting it halfway through because he is running into bowl. Even a slight delay by the bowler sends them scurrying off to show an ad," complains a blogger at bangaloreblues.wordpress.com.

The viewers had a variety of suggestions including making the fans pay to watch a game or a series with no advertisements. Another suggestion aired was to let the ads occupy only half the screen and live coverage continue on the other. A continuous, always on ad pane on one side of the screen was another solution offered.

Cup telecast

Wait for it...

"Golly, they sure don't make cup telecasts like they used to..."

In other news, ESPN and NFL Football announced the outsourcing of their entire respective broadcasting departments to SET Max. “We are confident that SET Max will provide the coverage American consumers have come to expect,” said Mr. Moneybags, Chief Marketing Officer for ESPN.

3 posted on 05/06/2007 5:53:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Time heals all wounds, particularly when they're not yours. Profile updated May 6, 2007.)

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