Nine bowed to public pressure on Tom Waterhouse arrangements

By By Wenlei Ma | 28 March 2013
 
Nine bowed to public pressure around Tom Waterhouse's live odds during NRL broadcasts.

Nine changed its not-yet-finalised arrangements with Tom Waterhouse due to public pressure and the looming broadcast code for live odds, the network told a joint parliamentary committee.

Nine director of commercial and regulatory affairs Scott Briggs revealed to the committee yesterday afternoon the network had received 35 complaints recently about the way Tom Waterhouse, who paid for his presence on-air, was presented during NRL matches. In comparison, Briggs said the network had received only 16 complaints about live odds in the whole of 2012.

“We didn't get a significant number, we get far more for not showing the Brisbane Broncos in Queensland than we do for these sorts of issues. In this instance, we received about 35 complains. Given that we only receive about 16 the year before, we obviously took that to be a level of concern,” Briggs said.

“It was the view that we got the complaints and we wanted to comply with the code so we made the assessment that in order to fully comply with the code before its adoption we needed to distinguish Tom Waterhouse from the commentary team and we believe we've done that.”

Briggs said the network moved to a 'discreet segment' last weekend where Tom Waterhouse was preceded by branded graphics. “It's not our intention to blend him as a commentator. He's there as a spokesperson for his company in an advertising sense. I think people will understand that no other segments that aren't advertising segments appear to be the same way. We think it clearly distinguishes as an advertisement,” he added. Briggs said the only interaction between commentators and Waterhouse now is when the commentators throw to his segment.

Briggs said while the network moved from an original arrangement, Waterhouse is still a casual advertiser on Nine. He said: “Currently there is no deal in place. We are negotiating a deal with him and it's fair to say figures put out there [reportedly $15 million] are not accurate. We're not sure at this stage if it'll be a one-year deal or a multi-year deal.”

Briggs added any deal with Waterhouse would not necessarily go into detail regarding whether he would have space on the ground. The details would more likely pertain to times in which the company would run its segments, which could apply to just regular advertising.

Previously, Tom Waterhouse controversially sometimes shared a screen with Nine commentators during live broadcasts.

Briggs appeared before a joint parliamentary committee looking into gambling reform. Earlier in the day, the NRL said the Tom Waterhouse situation blurred the lines between advertising and commentary. Waterhouse declined an original invitation to appear before the committee. Committee chair, independent MP Andrew Wilkie, said he intended to ask the committee to invite Waterhouse again.

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