Well done Channel 4

I am amazed - for the first time in more years than I care to remember Cricket will be live, free on air, thanks to Channel 4 (almost) clearing their schedule to show the Cricket World Cup ball by ball. Please note BBC - this type of broadcasting is what you are paid to provide - stuff of national interest!!! Don't quite know how they will juggle Formula 1 (also should be shown on BBC) and the cricket - but I am a very happy bunny!

I am amazed - for the first time in more years than I care to remember Cricket will be live, free on air, thanks to Channel 4 (almost) clearing their schedule to show the Cricket World Cup ball by ball. Please note BBC - this type of broadcasting is what you are paid to provide - stuff of national interest!!! Don't quite know how they will juggle Formula 1 (also should be shown on BBC) and the cricket - but I am a very happy bunny!

I would expect the F1 to take precedence over the cricket as this what Ch 4 originally advertised and it is their only live race this season. However, during the last week, Sky had indicated that they would show the Cricket World Cup Final on a public channel and it will be on Sky 1. I notice that Sky will also show the F1 on a public channel as well. Basically Sky control it all so there is little point in blaming the BBC as they do not have the funds to compete with Sky. It may be that in future as TV advertising becomes less important then the gap may close between Sky and the public broadcasting. It may take some channel swapping to follow both and then there is the Wimbledon final!! Dave

I would expect the F1 to take precedence over the cricket as this what Ch 4 originally advertised and it is their only live race this season. However, during the last week, Sky had indicated that they would show the Cricket World Cup Final on a public channel and it will be on Sky 1. I notice that Sky will also show the F1 on a public channel as well. Basically Sky control it all so there is little point in blaming the BBC as they do not have the funds to compete with Sky. It may be that in future as TV advertising becomes less important then the gap may close between Sky and the public broadcasting. It may take some channel swapping to follow both and then there is the Wimbledon final!!


Dave

[quote]However, during the last week, Sky had indicated that they would show the Cricket World Cup Final on a public channel [/quote] That decision was made public only after England had secured their place in the final. Had England not won their semi, then I very much doubt Sky would have put the final on a public channel.

Quote:However, during the last week, Sky had indicated that they would show the Cricket World Cup Final on a public channel

That decision was made public only after England had secured their place in the final. Had England not won their semi, then I very much doubt Sky would have put the final on a public channel.

Cricket moves to More 4 when the F1 is on

Cricket moves to More 4 when the F1 is on

It is all to do with money. Channel 4 will reap increased advertising revenue by showing the cricket today. Probably why the BBC does not cover much of the major sporting events..... remember years ago The Grand National amongst others. BBC did have the Women's Football World Cup and currently the Netball, so it is not a total gloom & doom !

It is all to do with money.
Channel 4 will reap increased advertising revenue by showing the cricket today.

Probably why the BBC does not cover much of the major sporting events..... remember years ago The Grand National amongst others.
BBC did have the Women's Football World Cup and currently the Netball, so it is not a total gloom & doom !

Meanwhile ITV4 has live coverage of the Tour de France, from 11am to 5pm with a recap at 7pm. No contest.

Meanwhile ITV4 has live coverage of the Tour de France, from 11am to 5pm with a recap at 7pm. No contest.

I have always enjoyed cricket and have not seen any televised for a number of years. If this is the modern game it's dreadful with all the music. Sky's coverage is equally bad with the poor commentary and all the on screen graphics and interuptions. Rapidly losing interest. :(:(:(:(:(

I have always enjoyed cricket and have not seen any televised for a number of years. If this is the modern game it's dreadful with all the music. Sky's coverage is equally bad with the poor commentary and all the on screen graphics and interuptions. Rapidly losing interest.

While I understand your point of view as I used to really enjoy 5 day test matches, I do think that the shorter version of the game has developed. Initially, it was a short version without the strategy and tactics of a test match but this World Cup had shown the shorter form at its best. The short form of the game is more similar to US baseball and has its own techniques and tactics now. Cricket is a professional sport so they need to attract sponsors, TV and sell tickets. The 2019 World Cup was a great success and will surely attract more players, supporters and sponsors and we may even get to see more on public TV. I do wonder what John Arlott would have thought about the 2019 World Cup? Dave

While I understand your point of view as I used to really enjoy 5 day test matches, I do think that the shorter version of the game has developed. Initially, it was a short version without the strategy and tactics of a test match but this World Cup had shown the shorter form at its best. The short form of the game is more similar to US baseball and has its own techniques and tactics now. Cricket is a professional sport so they need to attract sponsors, TV and sell tickets. The 2019 World Cup was a great success and will surely attract more players, supporters and sponsors and we may even get to see more on public TV.


I do wonder what John Arlott would have thought about the 2019 World Cup?


Dave

[quote]I do wonder what John Arlott would have thought about the 2019 World Cup?[/quote] Probably the same as me. :(:(:( At least I was able to turn the sound off.

Quote:I do wonder what John Arlott would have thought about the 2019 World Cup?

Probably the same as me.
At least I was able to turn the sound off.

Fabulous to watch yesterday and I do remember watching the Ashes sometime in the early 2000's which was equally exciting. Sky may give money to the ECB (and the other sports that they broadcast) but the interest in Cricket specifically has fallen away (and I suspect motor sport as it is now will also fall away), much as cricket has done. The excitement of any game is in the actual competition between the two sets of contestants and that excitement can be the instigator of continued support for and the desire to be a part of the process. If the viewing of such contests is limited then interest will be limited and I think the ECB has realised that they may have shot themselves in the foot by agreeing the deal with Sky in the first place. I no longer see the vast majority of village greens sporting a Cricket match on a Sunday, nor do I see kids going off to school with their cricket whites or bowling overs in the evening - although those kicking a football have increased and every evening I am given a time check by the young lad next door coming home from school and bouncing his football up the road! The showing of the Olympics on free to air TV has seen an increase in the popularity of a number of minority sports - cycling, canoeing, rowing, - but also track sports. Interest is the first step to promoting people taking part and this can only bring benefits to all.

Fabulous to watch yesterday and I do remember watching the Ashes sometime in the early 2000's which was equally exciting. Sky may give money to the ECB (and the other sports that they broadcast) but the interest in Cricket specifically has fallen away (and I suspect motor sport as it is now will also fall away), much as cricket has done. The excitement of any game is in the actual competition between the two sets of contestants and that excitement can be the instigator of continued support for and the desire to be a part of the process. If the viewing of such contests is limited then interest will be limited and I think the ECB has realised that they may have shot themselves in the foot by agreeing the deal with Sky in the first place. I no longer see the vast majority of village greens sporting a Cricket match on a Sunday, nor do I see kids going off to school with their cricket whites or bowling overs in the evening - although those kicking a football have increased and every evening I am given a time check by the young lad next door coming home from school and bouncing his football up the road!
The showing of the Olympics on free to air TV has seen an increase in the popularity of a number of minority sports - cycling, canoeing, rowing, - but also track sports. Interest is the first step to promoting people taking part and this can only bring benefits to all.

With F1 Bernie Ecclestone in charge, we certainly got a lot more live F1. He understood the overall long term commercial picture. I once read a management report about the McClaren team (they were on top then). One of the key items of note was that at that time almost as many people watched each F1 race on TV as watched the Football World Cup final (hard to believe now) but there are over 20 F1 races per year each attracting nearly 1/2 Billion viewers and one World Cup final every four years. Even if the figures for the Football WC final are four times this, there is no doubt that Bernie could see this as a huge advertising opportunity. In general F1 is seen as a clean sport with no undertones so just to get you advert seen by such a large regular audience has to be attractive. This is no doubt why there is so much advertising around the track and on the competitors cars and clothing. I do wonder if the current F1 owners think more short term than Bernie. Anyway, well done to the English Cricket team and all the other teams who took part and well done Lewis Hamilton! Dave

With F1 Bernie Ecclestone in charge, we certainly got a lot more live F1. He understood the overall long term commercial picture. I once read a management report about the McClaren team (they were on top then). One of the key items of note was that at that time almost as many people watched each F1 race on TV as watched the Football World Cup final (hard to believe now) but there are over 20 F1 races per year each attracting nearly 1/2 Billion viewers and one World Cup final every four years. Even if the figures for the Football WC final are four times this, there is no doubt that Bernie could see this as a huge advertising opportunity. In general F1 is seen as a clean sport with no undertones so just to get you advert seen by such a large regular audience has to be attractive. This is no doubt why there is so much advertising around the track and on the competitors cars and clothing. I do wonder if the current F1 owners think more short term than Bernie.


Anyway, well done to the English Cricket team and all the other teams who took part and well done Lewis Hamilton!


Dave

[quote] there is so much advertising around the track and on the competitors cars and clothing[/quote] Not forgetting advertising on the pitch / field as well. That really irritates me.... I wonder of there is a software application that I can plug into the television that clones them all out before displaying the image on the screen !

Quote: there is so much advertising around the track and on the competitors cars and clothing

Not forgetting advertising on the pitch / field as well.

That really irritates me.... I wonder of there is a software application that I can plug into the television that clones them all out before displaying the image on the screen !

I wasn't very fond of Bernie Ecclestone as a person - i thought that he was too pro the big set-ups and not supportive enough of the smaller teams. But I agree about the lack of awareness of the new bosses who, I suspect, having an American background in commercialisation will take F1 in that direction. When I knew that F1 wouldn't be available on terrestrial TV this year I researched how it might be possible to watch races. But when it came down to it all the foreign TV companies were unavailable to me as I was in Britain, indeed Liberty had set up their own broadcasting of F1 - available to anyone who paid I believe £20 - but unavailable to anyone in Britain. Because of their agreed contract with Sky! So short-sighted.

I wasn't very fond of Bernie Ecclestone as a person - i thought that he was too pro the big set-ups and not supportive enough of the smaller teams. But I agree about the lack of awareness of the new bosses who, I suspect, having an American background in commercialisation will take F1 in that direction. When I knew that F1 wouldn't be available on terrestrial TV this year I researched how it might be possible to watch races. But when it came down to it all the foreign TV companies were unavailable to me as I was in Britain, indeed Liberty had set up their own broadcasting of F1 - available to anyone who paid I believe £20 - but unavailable to anyone in Britain. Because of their agreed contract with Sky! So short-sighted.