Channel 9 loses accreditation for violating Commonwealth Games opening ceremony embargo
Channel 9’s suspension from the Commonwealth Games will be reviewed after the opening ceremony on Wednesday
In perhaps the first of its kind case of embargo violation in a multi-sport event, popular Australian network Channel Nine’s accreditation was cancelled by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee after it leaked a video of the opening ceremony’s dress rehearsal.
“Someone was in the venue, took pictures of the Opening Ceremony. The other 16,000 volunteers and people respected the fact we asked them not to do it (broadcast it). And then they put it on their news service,” Games organising committee CEO Mark Peters said here.
“This is not what dignity is about, this is not what trust is about and it broke our news access rules. So there has to be a consequence, the same way there is a consequence for athletes and officials, and so the consequence is, we have suspended their accreditation,” he added.
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However, the suspension will be reviewed after the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
“When people are given the privilege to come in and watch an event and they break the rules, that’s not high performance, that’s infringing on the spirit which these Games represent,” Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg said.
The details of the opening ceremonies at major sporting events are usually embargoed for media, which is given early access to the event to prepare themselves.