“MATCHES SHOULD BE BROADCAST”

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27989, 8 June 1956, Page 10

“MATCHES SHOULD BE BROADCAST”

Canterbury Union’s View HIGHER FEE CONSIDERED FAIR REQUEST

If the Broadcasting Service was there to serve the public it should “meet the popular demand, even if it has to pay something to the New Zealand union to compensate for the smaller attendances,” said Mr R. W Blazey, president of the Canterbury Rugby Union, commenting yesterday on the New Zealand union’s ruling on radio broadcasts covering provincial matches played during the Springboks’ tour.

The provincial matches should be nationally broadcast, said Mr Blazey. and compensation should be made by the Broadcasting Service for the money ‘ost by smaller attendances. “The trouble is that we have to depend on the service for any radio coverage because it is a monopoly,” he said.

For the hundreds of thousands of persons following the results of the Springbok tour the only station from which they could hear a commentary of the team’s first match against Waikato on Saturday would be station LXB, Hamilton, and that was very hard to receive in Christchurch saia Mr Blazey.

Mr W. C. Dailey, the past president of the Canterbury union, agreed that provincial matches should be given a national radio coverage, and said that the Eroadcasting Service should be prepared to pay the additional cost. Such additional payment would be paid to the unions suffering financially from a New Zealand-wide broadcast, he said.

“In not agreeing to pay the extra to provide a national coverage, the New Zealand radio is not giving the service it should. After all, there is tremendous interest in this tour,” said Mr Dailey. Otago View Something would have to be done before Saturday, said the chairman of the Otago Rugby Union (Mr O. E. Knox), as reported in a Press Association message from Dunedin.

“There will be a terrible public outcry if the broadcast of the Waikato match cannot be heard here.” he said “Wellington should be notified to see if something could be done.” He also considered the fee from the Broadcasting Service to the New Zealand union for the right to broadcast matches was too low.

RADIO NEW ZEALAND BROADCASTS “RECEPTION WILL BE VARIABLE” (New Zeaiava Press Association) WELLINGTON. June 7. The short-wave frequencies on which Radio New Zealand commentaries on the Springbok matches, including provincial games, will be broadcast are 11.83 megacycles in the 25-metre band and 15.22 megacycles in the 19-metre band. The commentaries will be broadcast simultaneously on both wave lengths, but the National Broadcasting Service says that reception will be variable in different parts of New Zealand and may not be good in some places, because the wave-lengths have been chosen for long-distance reception overseas.