Tom puts it in a nutshell
A chap called Tom Loxley writes in the Radio Times. I'm a bit hazy about who Tom is and what he does but, judging by his column in the RT, I like the cut of his jib.
Mr Loxley does not subscribe to Sky Sports and reflects upon the ECB's crass decision to sell cricket to them until at least 2013.
"Blinded by cash (remember this is the sorry lot who thought Allen Stanford was a good business partner) these chaps can't see the long-term consequences of selling their sport to a niche broadcaster (Sky Sports has four million subscribers) and by-passing a generation of would-be cricketers who could be watching on free-to-air TV.
"I know free-to-air doesn't guarantee success on the field. BBC cameras have covered Wimbledon since 1937 and we have not had a men's singles winner yet. But the day Andy Murray wins a grand slam, as he surely will, it won't just be my kids queuing to hit winners over the drooping net at the local tennis courts dressed in Fred Perry's finest. I wish they'd care if Flintoff helps England win the Ashes. But they won't, not even if he cuts the sleeves of his shirts, the legs off his trousers and gels his hair into meringue peaks. Like an Andy Murray winner, it'll sail over their heads."
Spot on, Tom. Right now, there has never been more money in English cricket. But far more important than money are enthusiasm and love for the game. Only they will sustain it at the heart of English sport. And how can all the children born here from 2000 onwards love a game they never see live?
Older/Newer
5 Comments
Leave a comment
Profile
Brian Halford - Brian Halford’s look at Edgbaston.
I totally agree with Tom Loxley. So many people are missing out on watching any form of cricket. They should never of given Sky a total monopoly. Even a t20 world cup would generate a load more interest if it was on freeview. The highlights programmes are a complete waste of time.
It was silly for the ECB to play this winner takes all strategy, its laughable really that English cricket, a sport with about a million different competitions, sells them all to one bidder!! Mind of course there have to be alternative broadcasters willing to pay for it and the time needed to be devoted to showing cricket probably puts off a lot.
But T20 seems heaven sent to solve this problem but Sky have that too, funny old world.
Quite. Without wishing to be a harbinger of doom I really do fear that the decisions and directions being taken by the ECB during this decade could cause a level of damage to this most wonderful of sports from which it will take decades to recover - if indeed it ever fully does.
What exactly are the ECB supposed to do?
Remember of the terrestrial channels only C5 bothered to bid for any of the packages on offer last time.
The BBC said the price was too high and it didn’t fit their profile. However a few short months later they stumped up an eye-watering £200m of licence payers cash to get back F1 coverage. This despite the fact that another terrestrial channel was covering it perfectly adequately.
Of course the BBC would like to cherry pick the top fixtures at a knock own price but then that would reduce the in flow of cash into the game at both the top level and grass roots.
And let’s remember that when the BBC had the full rights they were less than committed – often cutting into play with the 3:30 from Kempton or bowls from Blackpool.
The modern TV audience wants full, live, uninterrupted coverage. The BBC could provide this through the red button if they had the will or interest.
They have neither – and if you want proof look where they’ve scheduled the World T20 highlights over the next fortnight – 11:35pm on BBC2!
It’s about time the Sky bashers gave it a rest and turned their fire on the national broadcaster.
Hi Member Ex. Good points you make and the BBC's loss of interest is indefensible from a public service broadcaster. And yes, for them to then buy up F1 was salt in the wounds of cricket-watchers.
It's not so much Sky-bashing - they are just doing what rich organisations do, buying what they covet. It's the ECB I think cricket-lovers have been let down by. Could they not have sacrificed a bit of dosh, or even quite a lot of dosh, to keep a presence somewhere on free-to-air telly? Attracting youngsters to the game in the first place is priceless.