Ask LH: How Can I Watch State Of Origin In HD?

Dear Lifehacker, Is there any chance I’ll get to watch State Of Origin live in HD on my TV this year? Thanks, Putting The Boot In

Picture: Getty Images/Mark Metcalfe

Dear PTBI,

Alas, no. As ever, the State Of Origin clash is only being broadcast live on Channel Nine — and Nine in its infinite wisdom has decided to only show it on its main channel, which is standard definition. GEM, Nine’s HD channel, will be entertaining non-sports fans with repeats of New Tricks and Spooks. Great use of those resources, guys.

The local networks have been agitating to be allowed to broadcast in HD on their main channel, and there’s a possibility that might happen by 2016.

But there’s a blunt commercial reality here: the lack of an HD broadcast isn’t going to stop people watching Origin, and Nine knows that. Since it has exclusive live rights (Foxtel only gets to show the repeat at 1030), that lack of clarity isn’t going to translate into a lack of ratings — and ultimately that’s all the networks care about.

Cheers
Lifehacker

Have a question you want to put to Ask Lifehacker? Send it using our [contact text=”contact form”].


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


5 responses to “Ask LH: How Can I Watch State Of Origin In HD?”