Television reports on Games at 6 p.m.

Press, 18 June 1976, Page 4

Television reports on Games at 6 p.m.

PA Dunedin A New Zealand television team will send a daily 60-minute videotape report from the Olympic Games in Montreal next month. Certain details of the arrangements were announced in Dunedin yesterday by Mr A. Lewis, controller of production services for TVI. Each day’s events are expected to finish from 10 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Montreal time, which will give the New Zealand television team about 90 minutes to compile its master videotape report before it is transmitted directly by satellite to Wellington and Auckland at midnight — which is 4 p.m. New Zealand time. This transmission will be completed at 5 p.m. in New Zealand, which will give TVT an hour to edit 30 minutes of highlights to be broadcast each evening at 6 p.m. The full hour’s tape from the Games will be broadcast by TVI each evening at 8.30 p.m. x It was believed that TV2 would edit 15 minutes of highlights from the package for screening at a later slot in the evening, Mr Lewis said. In addition, New Zealand has booked satellite circuits to broadcast live all those finals in which New Zealanders have a chance of winning medals. These include the 800 m and 1500 m, in which John Walker will compete; the 5000 m (Rod Dixon) and the 10,000 m (Dick Quax); and the rowing eights. The opening ceremony on July 17 will be broadcast

I live by satellite, and also the closing ceremony in August. Mr Lewis said that a special Canadian Broadcasting Corporation division, Orto, would hire production equipment to the New Zealand television team, which would have two videotape recorders at its disposal. Should there be more than two events on simultaneously in which the team was interested, there would be a problem; but it was expected that there might be interchange of tapes with the Australians or other broadcasters. The first priority would be to record those events in which New Zealand competitors were participating, said Mr Lewis. Second, the team would be interested in events in which there would be genuine New Zealand interest, even if there were no New Zealand competitors — “glamour events” such as the 100 m. Third, the team would record events in which there might be some New Zealand interest, such as gymnastics. Mr Lewis said that a team of 11 (eight from TVI, three from TV2) would go to Montreal for the combined work. They would be joined by two regular commentators, Peter Montgomery (who will cover the yachting at Kingston) and John Davies, the 1500 m silver medallist at Tokyo, who would work with Keith Quinn on track and field events. The other commentators would be John Neilson and Brendon Telfer, of Christchurch. Production would be in the hands of Harold Anderson, executive producer for sport at TVI. Broadcasting arrangements at Montreal are in the hands of the Canadian BroadI casting Corporation, which

has set up a separate divi sion called Orto (Olympic Radio and Television Organ isation). The staff of Orto is a present 150. but will increase to 1500 by the end <? this month.