So I've asked the question on the ABO's Facebook page as to why it is that the ABO is the ONLY Super Series event not televised on the BWF YouTube channel, and the answer as to why there's no coverage is......"Unfortunately, there is no live streaming at this point." No, I noticed, that's why I asked the question. At this time, the only way to watch the games if you're not there, is via betting websites, or via rips from those websites, such as on Azzam 藤本 YouTube channel. Anyway, I have a hypothesis. I'm putting this to badminton fans simply as an intellectual discussion. I'm not implying any wrongdoing WHATSOEVER, over and above neglecting badminton fans around the world by not televising it, and not being sensitive to Australian culture's move away from profiting from negative and addictive behavioral traits - specially when it comes to sport. The ABO is being held at 'The Star', which is a nice way of deflecting the the fact that it's essentially a whopping great casino. In many Asian (statistically, I'm not stereotyping) cultures, gambling is seen as much more socially acceptable, part of complex cultural notions of luck, good fortune, superstition and karma. In the West, it is culturally being viewed increasingly in a negative light (Although not without its culturally acceptable forms, such as the Melbourne Cup). Now there's no doubt that there is nothing inherently illegal about gambling. However, smoking is also not illegal and yet Djarum quite happily sponsors the Indonesian Open - something that is illegal here in Australia. Like smoking, gambling is a disease and here in Australia, it's recognised as a societal problem that preys on the poor, and exploits the vulnerable. All too regularly we hear the same story of someone leaving their kid in the car while they go to the casino, of people losing their houses and of families being torn apart. The question in my mind therefore, is this the style of sporting event we want to see here in Australia? Who benefits from the tournament, and is it in the spirit of not only Australian cultural mores but also world badminton. Does anyone have any opinions on the topic?
Perhaps the answer lies in the number of responses you've garnered? ...and by extrapolation, points to (maybe, one of) the reason why badminton has been unable to take to the skies? BTW, do you know if Star/ESPN/7 have been broadcasting on any subscriber or ppv channel?
Responses directly proportionate to people's level of gutlessness, I would suspect. http://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/tv-guide/default.htm Can't find any reference to the Australian Open when I do a search. Australia would be a prime candidate for putting coverage online, because we're one of the worlds heaviest user of the internet, ppv tv is on the wane (too expensive), and we have relatively few badminton fans compared to other fanatical nations. It's bizarre. Even the director boasted THREE DAYS AGO that there would be coverage for over 200 million people world-wide when they were promoting the event - June 23rd, 2014 - "The Open gets underway on Tuesday, June 24, with the finals on Sunday, June 29, and Badminton Australia's board member and tournament director Loke Poh Wong said this year's event would be broadcast to more than 250 million households globally." (http://localnewsplus.com.au/story.php?ID=63928). Households, or betting houses?
While the tournament is sponsored by The Star, it is not being held at The Star. However, I also find it a bit odd that it's not being streamed live on Youtube.
Yes, all this is a little odd, considering the SS status and the fact that it's the first time the SS has been awarded down under. Very insensitive -and not very pro-active approach by all the stakeholders. I suspect there could also be some financial trouble the promoters are experiencing, as a result of no television revenue. But I wonder -given that they obviously knew there would be no television deal- how much it would have cost them to arrange for live streaming of one or two courts throughout the tournament?
I would've thought there'd be enough revenue from having it on YouTube. Even the 2013 Yonex Denmark Open got 268,625 views on the bwf channel. The directors just 4 days ago were claiming same for the ABO. Seriously, HD cams are so readily accessible these days, it would take nothing to stick one on a court and have someone upload it to YouTube. If they had 'financial trouble' doing this, then clearly there is something horribly wrong with their budgeting and/or their perception of the value of a telecast in the eyes of badminton fans. It makes no sense whatsoever. And of course they're not engaging in a dialogue about it which makes you question even more.
Is there tv coverage? If not then obviously it is not going to be on the BWF YT channel ... The betting sites arrange for their own feed; BWF is not responsible for providing tv broadcast feed, the tournament is. Any visitor could have done it as well if cameras are not banned and have they? (well not live but private recordings to be uploaded afterwards)
The tournament does have TV Coverage as well as BWF Youtube Coverage just like the other SS tournaments.
Then it must be because he is in Australia that it was not available ... Just checking the dates of the post it seems the rant/complaint was simply premature as the coverage only started on the 27th/QF as normal for a regular SS event ...
Same as All England, we don't have BWF streaming or access to matches online during the tournament as Sky Sports show some matches on TV from Thursday (paid satellite channel), although it's always binned off early in favour of other stuff if the situation arises. I think they left a match half way through this year It's OK if you can afford to go though.... I went 3 days this year
Not true from 2014. 'BCA' sponsored it, for the exact reasons you state. Djarum are not allowed to sponsor it any longer. BCA happen to be owned by the same people though.
I'm out of town atm, so I'm not sure about live streaming. But there appears to be links to the ABO on the youtube website.
The ABO is just not supporting Aussie badminton fans who aren't actually at the tournament - plain and simple. Firstly, they're banning Aussie viewers at a browser level, without even the courtesy of saying "Sorry, we've sold the rights to Foxtel". I had no idea why people were saying they could watch it on youtube when I couldn't find it anywhere. Great, IP level DRM, with no warning. Classy. Secondly, NOBODY has Foxtel - 29% of households have it, and even fewer of those have the Sports package. Okay great, you've made some money selling the rights to them, but I'd seriously like to see the revenue stream for that vs the loss of viewers who you'll get NO revenue from because they're not watching it, because they can't. To top it off, there is NO INFORMATION provided on the ABO website, facebook page OR if you message them DIRECTLY asking them where you can watch it. Are they actually interested in promoting badminton, because they couldn't make it more difficult for Aussie badminton fans to actually watch it. I think I have every right to be pi$$ed off.
Those are valid concerns and BWF should be made aware of it. Why sell TV rights to a company who will give little coverage. Did they offer more money so that another TV company wouldn't get the rights? Your last paragraph is a good one. The tournament website should indicate where people can watch the tournament. For the very minimum, the local viewers should have this information.
Actually, it's not just Austrailia. It happens in I think a lot of countries. They get geo-blocked on certain tournaments (usually their own+others) and that's how it is.
It's purely a business decision. The local rights holder pay a handsome amount of money to get the broadcast rights in their country. If bwf comes in and stream it to their viewer on the internet then they will lose viewership. That would make little sense for the company who bought the rights.
I think BWF should tell us in advance which TV stations (for all countries/states/cities) will broadcast which tournaments (for all Level 1, SS and GP events). IMG Media should have a database of all the rights for each and every tournament.
^^^ This. Agree with pcll99. I don't mind live streaming being blocked when the tournament is being held in my country. But at least make the broadcasting information available to general public and I think it's the ABO organizer's responsibility to do so.
I asked on the ABO website, I asked on the ABO facebook page, AND I sent them a message on facebook asking where I could view the games......and got NO response. I mean, do you want people to watch the freakin' matches or not? I without reservation question the decision to broadcast on Foxtel. Only 29% of households have Foxtel, and even fewer have purchased the Sports package. To do so, you have to sign up for a 6 month package @ $79 per month. Sorry, $688 to watch 4 days of badminton...that aren't even live broadcasts? Who's going to do that? In Australia we get to see every other broadcast in every other country in real time.....why do we then have to pay $688 dollars to watch our own home tournament? To be frank, I was incredibly disappointed that I couldn't go watch it live. I'd planned to, but made a decision to have a longer overseas holiday with my family instead, and the only consolation for me was that I could watch it online anyway. When I discovered that not only that I couldn't, but that the ABO and their organisers just didn't give a damn about it, well that made it personal and my level of disgust and contempt for them couldn't be greater. If they don't rectify the situation next year, then I'll opt not to go there next year either and they can lose even more potential revenue because clearly that's the only thing they care about.
