The worst coverage of the World Cup?

Has this been the worst World Cup coverage in the last five events or 15 years? (Interesting there have been five tournaments in 15 years, no?). I think so. Even Doordarshan does a better job than SET Max.

This has been my fifth World Cup on TV. The first I really remember was back in 1992 when cable TV was all new and just getting started. On the whole, for a first real attempt at global broadcast, it was well done. The times were not too convenient for India, but the event was well presented on TV. Highlights were available twice, if memory serves me correct. So even if you missed a match, there were ways to catch the best moments again.

Then came the 1996 tournament and the coverage was once again above average. Remember, that by this time, satellite TV had become rather competitive and proving that STAR TV is better than DD was the point. Point was made, coverage was good everyone was happy.

Come 1999 and the expectations were higher and the timings ideal for watching cricket in India. The coverage was once again very good and the viewers were allowed to watch the match in addition to ads. By 2000, the rights were up for bidding again and unfortunately (from a sports fan’s POV), STAR-ESPN lost the rights and SET won it.

2003 came about and we were subjected to Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma. Not bad for the first time. It also helped that India made the final. Mandira also made news and made it big. The coverage wasn’t all bad, really. It was eminently watchable.

So what happened this time around? Mandira and Charu went from bad to worse, the set got darker and more disconnected. Cricket talk took up only about 60% of the airtime for ‘Extraa Innings’. But that was okay. One could tune out of the pre- and post-match show and watch only when the game was on. The only trouble was that the ads wouldn’t end.

I have stopped getting upset at the ad operator switching to an ad everytime the bowler was about to start an over. The last ball of the over is invariably lost. Up until 2003 (I think), there would be about 2 ads in the break between overs. This time, the minimum is three and if possible, four or five. I kid you not.

It has been a frustrating experience watching and boy, am I glad SET Max isn’t going to be the broadcaster in 2011. For one, I cannot take more of Mandira (who has looked grumpy for almost a month-and-a-half; how do you do that?) and no matter how hard Charu tries to keep cricket as the focus, it’s too far overriden by commercial interests.

Just five days left. Thank you Max, but no thanks!

There are no reviews for the show on Mouthshut.com either. Howzzat? But here’s a good one on cricketfundas.com!