We might have to live with vuvuzelas

Vuvuzelas are particularly popular with South African fans. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Television New Zealand is looking into ways to "tweak down" the sound of stadium trumpets on footage beamed from the football World Cup in South Africa.

A spokeswoman last night said the station was among an international group of broadcasters that had lobbied the host broadcaster to try to minimise the sound of the vuvuzela.

A vuvuzela is a plastic, trumpet-like instrument that emits a constant low, droning hum.

It is particularly popular with South African fans.

Spokeswoman Andi Brotherston said TVNZ was also looking at technology that could filter the sound out at this end, despite having received just a handful of complaints about the trumpet noise.

"We've been looking at ways to tweak down the sound, but in saying that, we do have to be careful because in sports, all that sound is part of the atmosphere," she said.

"It gives viewers a sense of what it's like at the game."

Ms Brotherston said simply turning the sound off or down - as can be done in other footage - was not possible in this case as the source broadcast contained both commentary and atmospheric noise that could not be separated.

In South Africa, a plan was being considered to add extra soundproofing to the commentary box, minimising the atmospheric noise heard on screen.

Sky TV said last night that it had not received any complaints about the sound, but only high praise for its coverage.

Spokeswoman Lisa Franklin said it would not be moving to block out the sound as it added to the "ambience" of the match.

In Britain, the BBC is considering introducing a "vuvuzela-free" channel for World Cup matches if viewer complaints continue.

The vuvuzela's incessant drone has reportedly spoiled the experience for many armchair fans and, by yesterday, the BBC had received 225 complaints.

The broadcaster has already muted the background noise on its main commentary and, should the complaints continue, plans to show games on the red-button digital service with commentary only.

There are no plans to remove the noise of vuvuzelas from matches broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two.

- Additional reporting: agencies