Free to air: the saving or destruction of English cricket?

[madmusician]

On Friday, David Davies announced the results of his review of the “crown jewels” listed events. One of the highest profile recommendations was the re-listing of home Ashes series, bringing them back to free-to-air television. Many have considered this a positive move, one which widens the exposure of cricket, makes the Ashes more of a national event and brings new interest in the game. Others have lamented the loss of Sky money and the standard and commitment of the coverage. Before examining both sides of the argument, let us go back eleven years, to August 1998.

Chris Smith, then Culture Secretary announced that home test cricket matches were to be de-listed, meaning that the ECB could sell the rights to the highest bidder for the first time, rather than just giving them by default to the BBC, who had broadcast test cricket for 60 years. There were fears that Sky would snap up all the rights straight away, but Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the ECB, saw the value of terrestrial exposure and struck up a deal with Channel 4. Indeed, it was MacLaurin’s “gentlemen’s agreement” with Chris Smith that would create controversy in the years to come. All tests bar one each summer would be live on Channel 4, with Sky showing all other summer cricket live, with extended highlights of each test match.

At the start of Channel 4’s coverage, all was well. The network was clearly committed to cricket, and (leaving to go to racing aside) covered each of their tests comprehensively, with fresh presentation, early evening highlights and the Saturday Roadshow. During the winter, Sky showed live coverage of all England’s matches, with highlights available to all on Channel 4. This level of service continued for several years, including the victory against the West Indies in 2000, the destruction at the hands of Australia in 2001, and an enticing “Indian Summer” in 2002.

However, David Brook, the channel’s strategic guru and main force behind the original bid and extension of the contract to 2005, left in the summer of 2002, and Channel 4’s commitment to cricket began to drop off. Winter highlights began to be abandoned (not a ball of the 2003 World Cup was seen on terrestrial television), summer start times were brought forward and the vibrant roadshow was dropped. Channel 4 even did the unthinkable at the beginning of 2003, cutting off coverage of play, to go to Hollyoaks. Viewer complaints meant that this practice didn’t last long, however.

When the contract once again came up for renewal, there were whispers that Channel 4 might pass it up. The Times had the BBC up as the clear winners of this, thinking that they could regain the contract, yet others predicted a victory for BSkyB. In the end, the inevitable happened. Sky Sports won exclusive rights to all English cricket, with only a 45 minute highlights package airing on Channel 5 (which not all of the population can receive). The 2005 Ashes revitalised the public’s opinion of cricket, and campaigns struck up to Keep Cricket Free. But the damage had been done. Sky began their exclusive coverage in May 2006, and have kept on going since, renewing their contract in 2008.

Those in favour of Sky dominance cite their financial aid and outstanding level of coverage. Neither of these can be doubted, but some have questioned precisely how much of the money has actually gone towards grass roots cricket. Has it instead just created a bigger pay packet for counties? Similarly, the coverage can undoubtedly be matched, as shown by the three-time BAFTA winning Sunset and Vine coverage for Channel 4. However, commitment is a problem, as Channel 4 lost money showing test cricket and the BBC have a very busy schedule, making it difficult to schedule five continuous days to cricket. The best hope is probably the red button, but that is far less prestigious than Sky Sports 1, where test matches have been shown for the past four years. The Ashes, however, may well be a different matter, as it is the highlight cricket in England, effectively equivalent to football’s World Cup.

We could well see the BBC putting this in the schedules, but coverage standard and finance is an issue. The BBC’s coverage of the Ashes series in Australia in 2006-7, and their coverage of ICC events have been pretty poor. Manish Bhasin is not a natural cricket presenter, and it would be terrible if he took the presenter role for a show-piece Ashes series. Jonathan Agnew would most probably take a key role too, even though he is far better on Test Match Special. The ideal would be using the Channel 5 team of Nicholas, Boycott and Hughes, with other commentators joining them from around the globe. However, I would be very surprised if the BBC went down that route, as they appear to be keen on promoting from within.

And that is assuming that the BBC is interested. They didn’t put Ashes test matches in their suggested “crown jewels” list to David Davies’ team, and didn’t bid at all in 2008. Perhaps the most likely scenario is Sky showing live Ashes coverage FTA on Sky 3, but that would need to be available to 95% of the population, which at the moment is not the case. Even after digital switch over, due to certain relays being unable to receive the relevant mulipliex, satellite reception will need to be very high to compensate. Nevertheless, this scenario is very much possible, as a “gentleman’s agreement” between the ECB and the government. It is doubtful that Channel 4 would be interested once again, or that Channel 5 has the necessary funds. ITV haven’t shown cricket in many years, and given the current climate would be unlikely to begin now. Therefore the two most realistic options are the BBC showing the Ashes once more or Sky going against their business principles.

Given that the BBC did not bid in the last contract deal, and that Sky currently have the rights and are most certainly not showing the Ashes free to air, then Giles Clarke has a reason to be angry. However, his claim that cricket will be “ruined” by the decision seems to be over exaggerated. Yes, cuts will have to be made, but perhaps the county system has become too bloated. The ECB want to challenge the decision, which means that the review will take even longer to come into effect. If the ECB manage to delay it to beyond the general election, then they have the chance of a Conservative government overturning the ruling. However, that would be a major negative signal to voters.

The listed events system is not water-tight, and there could yet be a standoff between the ECB and the government. I am of the personal opinion that the Ashes is an event of national importance, and should therefore be free for all to view. However, I also believe that the terrestrial channels should show a lot more interest than they have done in the last few years, so the ECB is not entirely to blame. The decision of whether to list the Ashes or not could run and run, but it is an interesting shake-up to the broadcasting status-quo, and perhaps, with a bit of luck, it could reignite terrestrial interest in live test match cricket.