Chapter 883 Ratings Savior
Boredom.
sleepy.
No one could have predicted that when the competition reached the quarterfinals, the excitement of the event would drop drastically, which was really disappointing.
Sweep, sweep, and sweep!
According to the schedule, the day session at Rod Laver Arena starts at 11 a.m., and after one game is over, the next one will continue without interruption; the night session starts at 7 p.m., and there is also one game, and the next one will continue immediately.
However, if all daytime matches end early, the stadium will be cleared and the night games will not begin until 7pm, and will not start early.
Generally speaking, daytime games often last until six, six-thirty, or even seven o'clock, which is common, so the audience's schedule is always full.
However……
On the ninth day of competition, when Murray defeated Karlovic to return to the Grand Slam semi-finals, it was only four o'clock in the afternoon local time in Melbourne.
Four o'clock!
This also means that there are still three full hours before the night show begins. With such a long waiting period, it is completely fine to take a nap in the afternoon.
From the side, we can see how messed up the three matches in the day were.
On social networks, fans from all over the world complained and expressed strong dissatisfaction with the organizing committee's schedule arrangement, which was clearly a dereliction of duty.
Although Australian netizens have come forward to express their opposition and defend the arrangement of the tournament organizing committee, they believe that such an arrangement is correct and wise; but the reality is cruel. The ratings of the three games in the day can deeply feel the real attitude of the local audience:
Throughout the morning, an average of only 990,000 people in Australia watched the live broadcast of the game on Channel 9.
What level is this number at?
Forget about the vertical comparison, let's compare horizontally. In the past eight match days this year, the moment with the highest viewership came from the last game when Seppi unexpectedly defeated Federer, with a total of 2.3 million people watching the match; and the lowest average daily viewership was 1.83 million on the fourth match day.
In other words, this is the first time that the average daily ratings have fallen below the one million threshold since the start of this year's Australian Open.
First of all, we need to understand a premise: the ratings of women's games are relatively weak in Australia, and the reasons are complicated.
Part of the reason is indeed that the ratings for men's matches are generally higher than those for women's matches around the world, and this is true for all four Grand Slams.
Part of the reason is that there are no Australian players among the top 20 women's players in the world. Of course, there are no Australian players among the men's players either. However, the younger generation of men's players have formed a group advantage, are rising rapidly, and have always been at the forefront of topics.
Rod Laver's day show had two women's matches scheduled. Even with the beauty showdown between Maria Sharapova and Bouchard, the ratings were still slightly less stimulating, so the decline in ratings was expected.
but!
It is really surprising that the market has fallen to such an extent.
The Australian Open organizing committee is a little panicked.
Ratings are not everything. The essence of competitive sports is still competition. The quality of the semi-finals and finals will determine the results of this year's Australian Open.
But for advertisers and sponsors, they need these numbers to prove that their investment is correct.
Every year, the Australian Open generates A$35 million in revenue from television broadcasts, which together with tournament tickets and event peripherals constitute the three main sources of income for the event.
Once the ratings fluctuate, the first thing to worry about is the television broadcast; and when there are valleys like today, the alarm needs to be sounded.
Perhaps, they should not be so capricious in scheduling the matches. It would be too unworthy to damage the reputation of the event just for a momentary anger.
It's all that guy Gao Wen's fault!
Evening, seven o'clock.
The hustle and bustle of Melbourne Park gradually quieted down. There were no children running back and forth between the small fields, no bustling and noisy fans outside the training ground, no players carrying equipment to prepare for the game, and no spectators taking a break to eat French fries and burgers.
The peacock blue night fell, and the surging heat of the day slowly settled down. One could clearly feel that the scorching air had cooled down slightly.
However, a circular halo dome still shines brightly under the night sky, emitting a soft light, guiding people forward like the North Star. As the footsteps get closer, you can slowly feel the vitality and liveliness boiling again.
Rod Laver Arena.
As night falls, Melbourne Park officially enters Rod Laver Arena time, and all eyes are focused on the only center of the circle.
Even the audience who stayed on the lawn to watch the big screen gathered together, waiting for the live broadcast signal.
The Spanish and Chinese flags flying all over the sky are intertwined with each other. They both convey the enthusiasm and passion brought about by the collision of red and gold. In a trance, it is impossible to distinguish between you and me. As your eyes turn around, it seems that all you see is the similar red, and you will easily enter the red ocean.
However, it can be heard from the level of cheers that it is still different.
"The Australian Open Show" was in the final pre-match introduction. When the host said Gao Wen's name, Chinese fans cheered and were filled with passion. However, when the host said Nadal's name, the entire Melbourne Park shook, and the continuous gushing energy was enough to ignite the night.
Not only the Spanish fans, but also the Australian fans, all united firmly and took control of the situation with overwhelming advantage.
Boom boom boom! Yu Jia couldn't help but raise his chin slightly. Tonight, Gao Wen was facing unprecedented pressure, even more dangerous and difficult than the host players.
"here we go!"
The night game finally kicked off and the players came on stage.
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The event organizing committee staff immediately paid attention to the real-time ratings of the official live broadcast of Australia's Channel 9:
Five hundred thousand.
Eight hundred thousand.
One million.
In the blink of an eye, it easily broke through the one million threshold. It got hotter and hotter, and then hotter and hotter, soaring across the board at a speed visible to the naked eye.
One million three hundred thousand.
One million and a half.
Two million.
pretty!
"Ahhh! Finally!"
"Good job, I knew it!"
"Yeah! Party time!"
The ratings soared just by the players appearing on the field, and have remained stable around two million, making all the staff of the organizing committee breathe a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, as the most watched game of the day, the attention was completely different.
But--
"Rafa, it must be because of Rafa."
"Yes, yes, everyone loves Rafa."
"This is what was expected."
Australian Open director Craig Tiley could hear the whispers around him. They seemed to be comforting their colleagues and themselves, constantly emphasizing that the outstanding ratings were due to Nadal and refusing to acknowledge any relationship with Gao Wen.
However, Terry looked at the court with a look that gradually deepened:
So... is this really the case? (End of this chapter)