ABC election viewers fume over 'bloody pinging' noise
ABC viewers have mocked its live election night coverage after one of the panellists kept receiving a barrage of notifications.
Many claimed they thought it was their own phone, as the studio microphone picked up the constant dinging.
Australia Votes panellists Annabel Crabb, Leigh Sales, Simon Birmingham, Andrew Probyn and Tanya Plibersek didn't appear to notice the situation and continued to discuss the election as we count down until the results.
Follow our live blog for the latest election day updates and news
Frustrated by the disruption to the election night coverage, many took to Twitter to alert the ABC to the fail.
"Whose phone is bloody pinging on the ABC set. Effing stop it," one irked viewer wrote.
"Who the f*** is dinging on the ABC election program? Turn your f***ing phone down," another complained.
"You're on television. Mute your f***ing phone," a third added.
"I'm watching the ABC ... and people's phones keep going off and I keep thinking there's a phantom phone in my unit!" somebody else said.
Others then shared theories as to who it was, with someone claiming the dinging stopped right after they tweeted Crabb, while another said they caught Plibersek looking down at her phone.
Some claimed they heard the phone pinging every 10 seconds, and once it appeared to have stopped, it started again.
"That phone is dinging again," one tweeted.
"Whoever's phone keeps going off on the ABC is going to owe the crew quite a few cases of beer," another said.
One replied they had checked their phone 30 times despite not even having an iPhone.
Counting is now underway after polling booths on Australia's east coast closed at 6pm.
Either Anthony Albanese or Scott Morrison is set to be the leader of the 47th parliament of Australia. The election result will ultimately come down to these key marginal seats.
Polls suggest the nation is likely to get its sixth prime minister in nine years, but you can throw that all out the window now as the voice of the Australian people is about to be heard.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
