TV coverage of cricket in the UK has long been found (with very occasional exceptions) exclusively on Sky, as a pay option. The case for this from the cricket authorites the ECB has been that the money from Sky (now owned by Comcast)has allowed cricket to keep going and promote interest in the game at the grassroots.
The problem as those demanding a return to free to air coverage have underlined is that pay TV restricts the audience and hence interest in the game.
Recently as a result of a new deal largely related to the new 100 contest (postponed until 2021) the BBC has gained some rights to show highlights of games and a few live to air.
Last Sunday 31st August England played Pakistan in a T20 game at Manchester.
The game was screened on Sunday afternoon live on BBC and Sky.
The free to air BBC coverage attracted a peak of 2.7m viewers. By contrast Sky peaked at 490,000 viewers.
One hopes the ECB will reflect…
Leave a Reply