Channel Nine tech issues cross to Laurie Oakes tucking into pizza0:40
Channel Nine tech issues cross to Laurie Oakes tucking into a pizza in New York during US election coverage. Courtesy: Channel Nine
Channel 9 suffers awkward tech issues during election broadcast
THOSE who tuned in to Channel 9 news for the US election result yesterday were instead treated to a number of very awkward moments that left host Peter Hitchener lost for words.
The broadcast began with an incorrect caption of Hitchener labelled as Karl Stefanovic, and a number of odd moments with lighting where the host was in and out of focus.
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Their first live cross to Trump headquarters in New York ran smoothly, but Hitchener was left scrambling when the second news package failed, forcing him to repeatedly apologise to viewers for the error.
“Thanks for staying with us. Just a few little gremlins here,” Hitchener said.
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However, after it looked like all the issues were sorted out, Channel 9 then accidentally cut to the election coverage team of Karl Stefanovic and Laurie Oakes in the US, to an unfortunate shot of Oakes chowing down on a piece of pizza.
After almost 12 hours on the air, Oakes probably deserved to enjoy that slice, unfortunately just not in peace.
Hitchener has had his share of difficult on-air moments, including the infamous giant seagull incident where a hugely magnified bird walking behind his head barely caused a flinch in the stalwart newsreader’s performance.