Terrestrisal TV rights

[Stephen Bailey]

I still don't buy into this 'Cricket should be on free to air tv' stuff to be honest. No channel has the dstermination or indeed the schedule for it. It was on Channel 4 and was interrupted by racing, and as soon as the action finished it went off, only to return with 30 minutes of highlights at 1am or something. The BBC are showing the same now, 40 minutes is nothing really, if it's anywhere near as good as the last series, 40 minutes will show hardly anything. I just don't think Free to air TV deserves Cricket.

Sky didn't want BBC showing highlights until Sky had shown theirs, which I can understand.

So BBC have no determination to show cricket? I guess that explains why they are getting as much as they can now. They didn't have to get highlights for this series, they didn't have to get highlights online at the end of each days play. This is the first time there has been highlights of an overseas tour since the 2002/3 Ashes!

Channel 4 did a bloody good job considering how hard it was for them to schedule it all in. They aren't like Sky, they didn't have multiple channels to show it on and they have alot less money than them. No TV company can compete with Sky when they decide they want something.

If the ECB and the counties weren't so full of money hungry posh toffs at the top then it would still be on FTA TV.

I can't be bothered with saying anything more on the matter. I'm quite frankly tired of it, so please don't throw me anymore bate, or is that pasties?

 

[The_gas]

Well before we got sky plus i didnt want sky hogging the coverage. But now we have sky, i couldnt give a damm about bbc, or channel 4. Sky's coverage is top draw, plus i love the wise words of beefy, bumble, gower and holding.

 

[MUFC1987]

Sky didn't want BBC showing highlights until Sky had shown theirs, which I can understand.

So BBC have no determination to show cricket? I guess that explains why they are getting as much as they can now. They didn't have to get highlights for this series, they didn't have to get highlights online at the end of each days play. This is the first time there has been highlights of an overseas tour since the 2002/3 Ashes!

Channel 4 did a bloody good job considering how hard it was for them to schedule it all in. They aren't like Sky, they didn't have multiple channels to show it on and they have alot less money than them. No TV company can compete with Sky when they decide they want something.

If the ECB and the counties weren't so full of money hungry posh toffs at the top then it would still be on FTA TV.

I can't be bothered with saying anything more on the matter. I'm quite frankly tired of it, so please don't throw me anymore bate, or is that pasties?

The team gets good, people are interested and start kicking up a fuss. What a shock. No one cared about it being shown on FTA TV during the last Ashes tour when we were getting beaten for the 8th time or so in a row. Sky were showing hours of highlights when we were poor at Test cricket, fair enough Channel 4 showed some home stuff, but I can guarentee they didn't mind not showing the Bangladesh series in 2005. I fail to see why Cricket should cater to the BBC et al, when they only care when they stand to get something from it. I'd take full coverage from Sky for ?40 a month over some 40 minute trash from the Beeb anyday.

 

[Sureshot]

They're more interested in paying Norton and Ross ?10Million a year in total.

And we don't have to worry about horse racing intervening on Sky too.

 

[The_gas]

They're more interested in paying Norton and Ross ?10Million a year in total.

And we don't have to worry about horse racing intervening on Sky too.

Very good points.

 

[blazer-glory]

The BBC are pathetic when it come to showing sport. They show no interest in it, shoving highlights off both football and The Ashes on at the end of their crappy schedules. I could'nt believe it when I read that their Ashes higlights are only on for half an hour at the end of the day. What kind of signal is that in showing their interests in national sports!! Even channel 5s cricket spot was longer than that!
Scrap the bloody licence fee I say!!

 

[Skater]

The BBC and pathetic when it come to showing sport. They show no interest in it, shoving highlights off both football and The Ashes on at the end of their crappy schedules. I could'nt believe it when I read that their Ashes higlights are only on for half an hour at the end of the day. What kind of signal is that in showing their interests in national sports!! Even channel 5s cricket spot was longer than that!
Scrap the bloody licence fee I say!!

The BBC's highlights will be 40 minutes long actually.

 

[Stephen Bailey]

The BBC's highlights will be 40 minutes long actually.

Plus no adverts.

The BBC can't show the highlights before 10pm, as it's part of the deal they have with Sky. There is a possibility they will bring the highlights forward an hour from where they are currently scheduled.

 

[MUFC1987]

If England lose the first test, you can guarentee that the highlights will be on after mid-night. BBC likes sport as long as England are good at it.

 

[PhilD123]

If England lose the first test, you can guarentee that the highlights will be on after mid-night. BBC likes sport as long as England are good at it.

Why do they keep showing the footie then?

Although I have sky and I'll admit skys coverage is quite good. I prefered the coverage when it was on C4 to now on sky. I just feel C4 was quite traditional and you would look forward to the next time Richie Benaud or Boycott came into the commentary box. The only commentator I feel like that with on Sky is Bumble. Also those little moments of analysis by Simon Hughes. Its just those little things that makes me wish test cricket was back on C4.

 

[Skater]

A motion has been passed in the House of Commons to show England's home Tests on terrestrial television again and 100 MPs have signed it. The sports minister has said "...my natural instincts would be to agree but let me move forward and deal with the process in the proper way." The proposal is to add the Ashes, England's Tests played at Lord's and the final day of the Ryder Cup of golf to the 'A' list of sporting events that must be shown on free-to-air channels. The list should be reviewed later this year.

Source: Spin World Cricket Monthly (magazine), March 2008 issue

 

[blazer-glory]

Great news, lets hope something actually becomes of it and it doesn't just get brushed aside.

 

[Gunner786]

why not just make all england cricket on free tv,
every other country does it apart from england(i think)

 

[Animator!]

It wouldnt happen now. We're only a few years away from digital change over, we're also becoming a country in which more and more people have sky.

 

[Stephen Bailey]

We're only a few years away from digital change over

That's completely seperate. Digital TV doesn't mean you need Sky. And yes, there are increasing numbers of Sky subscribers, but the cricket viewing figures are still, quite frankly, appauling.

why not just make all england cricket on free tv,
every other country does it apart from england(i think)

Because the ECB loves money too much.