England vs New Zealand - 3rd Test - Trent Bridge

mike65 wrote: »

I miss the old cricket on de telly.

The days of cricket on terrestrial television appear to be over for the foreseeable future after an England and Wales Cricket Board executive revealed live broadcast rights to the newly-packaged Twenty20 Cup from 2010 will be bundled with every other event on sale.

"It will be part of the whole broadcast contract," ECB commercial director John Perera said. The news is likely to spark an angry reaction, and one MP has demanded Government intervention to bring free cricket back to TV screens.

Perera continued: "Twenty20 is part of our event portfolio and therefore it makes no sense selling it separately."

There was a theory that the re-designed Twenty20, or 'EPL' that is likely to be as revolutionary as the inaugural Indian Premier League, could have been offered separately to broadcasters. If that were to happen the BBC would almost certainly have made a competitive bid for English cricket's most family-friendly edition. It would also have been a powerful marketing tool for the ECB to showcase cricket to the masses again. But BBC insiders suggested that with all the tournaments packaged together the value is certain to exceed the level the organisation could afford to return cricket to free-to-air. BSkyB paid more than £200 million for the live broadcast rights from 2006 to 2009.

When the next broadcast rights go on sale, probably again over a four-year cycle from 2010-2013, the only likely rival to Sky Sports is another satellite company, Setanta, who paid handsomely for the live UK rights to the IPL.

When Channel Four lost the broadcast rights after the compelling 2005 Ashes that gripped the nation, the issue sparked outrage in the House of Commons and beyond. The latest news will re-ignite the debate. Ian Lucas, the Labour MP for Wrexham, has written to Culture Secretary Andy Burnham demanding the return of cricket on free-to-air, based on the alarming drop in viewing figures from a peak of about eight million in 2005 to 300,000 now.

Government intervention may be cricket's only saviour but the ECB would presumably have to be compensated.

The total value of the media rights is likely to exceed £300 million. Overseas rights, especially to India, will swell this further. The Indian board sold their live rights for about £300 million in 2006. Their Twenty20 was sold 18 months later for close on £500 million over a 10-year period.

Following a misguided article in a Sunday newspaper on June 8, 2008, the England and Wales Cricket Board clarified the position regarding its broadcasting negotiations.

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said today: “The article in the newspaper is simply wrong.

“ECB’s Twenty20 Cup, which is still being scoped, will be part of the separate 27 packages which are available to all and any broadcasters. An error has been made in confusing the processes with the packages.”

The ECB have asked for a correction from the newspaper involved.