Best coverage of a sporting event

This award recognises an organisation across any media platform that has delivered exceptional coverage of a sporting event during the nomination period. Entries should demonstrate responsible and well-researched coverage and provide a detailed and innovative insight into the sport and the event. Use of resourcing and media platforms will be considered.

Joint winners

News Corp / Sky News / Fox Sports, Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games News Corp, Sky News and Fox Sports took an innovative multi-platform and whole-of-company approach to covering Australia’s most successful Olympics in Paris. A team of 45 journalists and experts delivered multiple exclusives and deep insights in the gender and political firestorm surrounding an Algerian boxer and broke news of hockey player Tom Craig’s arrest. The insightful and impactful coverage, combined with original and creative flair, was distributed across multiple platforms simultaneously.  This included metro tabloid, broadsheet and regional mastheads, online platforms, digital print editions, social media, video packages, bespoke newsletters, the daily Matty & the Missile Podcast featuring Matty Johns and James Magnussen, and lifestyle channels culminating in 119 million page views on its digital print editions.

Nine Network, Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Nine’s coverage of the Olympic and Paralympics set a new benchmark for sports broadcasting. Weaving storytelling throughout the broadcast, viewers experienced immersive, personal stories of athletes – many filmed months before qualifying events and ending with emotional scenes with family members at venues. The result was a country united in pride and a deeper understanding of what sacrifices are needed to reach the pinnacle of world sport. With 5000 hours screened across the Nine Network, the Olympics captivated 19.5 million viewers and the Paralympics reached 8.7 million viewers, inspiring a nation and encouraging the 20 per cent of Australians living with a disability to get involved in sport.

Finalists

Optus Sport, UEFA EURO 2024 Optus Sport kept Aussies connected, informed and engaged with UEFA EURO 2024, producing and broadcasting more than 150 live hours of coverage across 51 matches. Its platform featured multiple ‘on-demand video’ options, with over 1000 pieces of content delivered and four million article reads across the period. Bespoke content posted online also saw Optus record over half a billion video views – driving social followers up by 2.5 million during the overnight football tournament. Regardless of when people tuned in, Optus was there to join fans, celebrate their rich cultural heritage and experience an outpouring of pride as teams took to the pitch.

Sydney Morning Herald / The Age, Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age delivered essential reading for those wanting to keep up to date with Paris 2024, providing comprehensive coverage of the triumphs and disappointments that unfolded overnight, exclusive news, high-quality analysis and unique visual storytelling. The Faster, Higher, Stronger series showed how three track and field events had progressed in the 100 years since Paris hosted the Games, while 3D animations helped illustrate the technical and athletic prowess behind three iconic events. Once in Paris, the team captured the big on-field moments with stunning writing and quality expert analysis, while teams in Paris and Australia kept readers up to date with 24/7 news via a live blog.