Viewers among millions

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33581, 9 July 1974, Page 3

Viewers among millions

Bleary but bewitched, New Zealand viewers joined yesterday morning in perhaps the most widely-watched event of all time — it was said that there were almost 1000 million receiving the telecast of the World Cup soccer final from Munich. Ask the average New Zealander to get out of bed at 2.30 a.m. in the depth of winter to stop a banging door, to get his wife a drink of water, or to investigate what sounds like footsteps in the hall, and he will grunt and roll over in his sleep. But when there is a sports event of such importance as this meeting of West Germany and Holland, he is up, the coffee is on, and he sits waiting impatiently.

It was all worth while. Satellite transmissions are still new enough to cause a sense almost of awe among the unscientific. The clarity of the telecast was outstandingly good, and the match itself sufficiently exciting to banish thoughts about temporary insanity. The colours were sharp, for those who saw it in its full glory. The sea of German flags — red, yellow, black — waved rhythmically by thousands of spectators, the lush green of the playing area, the starkness of the stadium, the kaleidoscopic colour of the enormous crowd, helped capture for a New Zealand viewer something of the tension of a World Cup final. The camera coverage was outstandingly good. There were many replays of important incidents, usually from a camera behind a

goal. And there were intimate, revealing portraits of the coaches and reserve players, sitting on their benches. There were some flaws, but with the transmission going out in scores of languages, some deficiencies could be expected. The roar of the crowd could be heard but faintly; it had to be stilled for the English commentator, and something was lost. He was quick and sure in his report; but the Caledonian gentleman who provided a few comments from time to time really needed an interpreter. The N.Z.B.C. has put itself on a limb, however. After this splendid television report from Munich, there will simply have to be live telecasts of the All Blacks’ tests in Britain. Otherwise there is likely to be another march on Parliament.—R.T.B.