Technical Issues Disrupt World Athletics Championships Commentary for NRK
Budapest, Hungary – Technical difficulties with the results system are causing frustration for the NRK commentary team covering the World Athletics Championships, potentially impacting their ability to accurately and promptly report results, especially for Norwegian athletes. The issues, which include intermittent outages of both the results feed and internet connectivity, have created a challenging surroundings for commentators striving to deliver timely and correct information.
NRK commentator Johan Post described the situation to Nettavisen, stating, ”We are very dependent on the results system working, there is a lot going on on time here and it is limited how many times you can remember at once.” He further explained the recurring problems: “Now it is indeed such that constantly uneven intervals, so the results side down, the internet down and we do not get results. It is a bit frustrating at times.” The disruptions occurred even during the 100-meter final,where Post admitted to lacking the start list and fearing an unexpected win from a lesser-known competitor.
The problems aren’t isolated to NRK. Post observed “constantly some surmilling” among commentators generally, noting that these issues have occurred in previous championships but feel particularly acute this year. While the source of the problems remains unclear, Post confirmed that the technical team has been informed and is working to resolve them.
The primary concern is the potential for critical miscommunication if a Norwegian athlete’s advancement hinges on time and the results system is unavailable. “The scare is that a Norwegian athlete should be dependent on moving on on time, so you do not have an overview of it because everything is down. Then you can’t convey the tension or give the result,” Post said. “I don’t want to, I want to provide correct information quickly. We hope that it does not happen and that we are done with the trouble now.”
the World Athletics Championships continue on Monday with numerous Norwegian athletes competing. A full schedule is available here.
