TORONTO – The World Curling Tour (WCT) has announced that Rogers Sportsnet will introduce a new concept to the world of curling by allowing viewers the opportunity to vote on which live TV match they would prefer to watch. Rogers Sportsnet will debut this feature during the semi-final broadcast of the M&M Meat Shops Masters of Curling, airing nationally at 3pm EST on December 12.
During the broadcast, both semi-final matches of the PharmAssist Grand Slam event will receive split coverage, allowing viewers to watch all four teams for the first half of the match (first five ends of play). Leading into and during the fifth end break, viewers can log onto www.sportsnet.ca and vote for the game they would like to watch during the second half of the broadcast. Rogers Sportsnet will then air the game that receives the most votes while still providing live updates from the other semi-final.
‘We’re raising the bar in televised curling,’ said Curtis Saville, curling producer at Rogers Sportsnet. ‘This is certainly a first for curling, and perhaps a first for broadcast sports in North America, where viewer input dictates production content in a live sports environment.’
Curling on Rogers Sportsnet already includes the popular ‘Rock Talk’ feature, when selected players wear a microphone and earpiece during one end of play and answer questions from the broadcast team of Rob Faulds, Marilyn Bodogh and Ed Lukowich while competing.
Another new concept debuting December 12 will be the ‘split timing’ tracking of every rock thrown. Split timing measures the interval time taken from the start of delivery (backline) to rock release (first hogline) which helps the athletes determine if the rock thrown is heavy, light or dead-on in predicted weight. This feature has been seen on occasions but will now be a permanent addition to the broadcast.
Rogers Sportsnet has televised high-performance curling from the World Curling Tour since 1999, and is the official broadcast partner of the 2004 PharmAssist Grand Slam of Curling presented by M&M Meat Shops. The first event of this season’s Slam, the BDO Curling Classic, scored 267,000 viewers on November 7, a higher rating than a competing NFL game.
For all the latest World Curling Tour information, please visit:
www.worldcurlingtour.com
Contacts:
Dave Haggith
Director, Communications
IMG Canada
Tel: 416.960.5312 ext. 123
e-mail: dhaggith@imgworld.com
Stacy Halonen
IMG Canada
Event Manager, Grand Slam of Curling
IMG Canada
Tel: 416.960.5312 ext. 144
e-mail: shalonen@imgworld.com
Curtis Saville
Rogers Sportsnet
Producer
Tel: 416-332-5809
e-mail: curtis.saville@sportsnet.rogers.com