Is Sky TV killing test cricket?

When I was growing up in the early 1980s, it was accepted that lads played football in the winter and cricket in the summer. Test matches were shown on BBC TV all through the day - no adverts, no gimmicks, just hour after hour of cricket. Because of this we knew all the players, the way the game worked and would even pester our dads to take us to a game.

To the modern "short attention span" teenager, this probably sounds deathly dull, but we found it fascinating. Then, in the evening, we'd go out with our mates and play cricket for hours on the nearest sports field (in our case the one next to Crookes Cemetery).

Fast forward to now, and the fact that terrestrial TV doesn't show any cricket at all means a whole generation have been bypassed. However much Sky like to boast, the number of people who have Sky Sports is very much a minority, which means that public perception of cricket as England's top summer sport seems to be fading.

Furthermore, test match cricket simply isn't the right sport for a subscription TV channel that relies on gimmicks and adverts every few minutes. It requires concentration, calmness and no distractions to be fully appreciated. It's not the sort of sport lads will watch on a TV in a pub.

Thus the introduction of the ridiculous pantomime farce that is 20/20 cricket - a desperate parody of a classic sport for thick people with short attention spans. How long before Sky Sports bosses - who of course hold all the purse strings - decide test cricket is too long and boring for their viewers and demand it be replaced by wall-to-wall 20/20 or something even worse?

Test cricket belongs on the BBC; unless the BBC wrestles back TV coverage of test matches form Murdoch's evil empire, I can see interest in the sport fading altogether.

What do you think?

I've always been a fan of Sky's coverage tbh but I see where you're coming from and I do think a lot of people are missing out.

''How long before Sky Sports bosses - who of course hold all the purse strings - decide test cricket is too long and boring for their viewers and demand it be replaced by wall-to-wall 20/20 or something even worse?''

I dont agree with you there though, Sky pump a lot of money into the game by buying the tv rights but they dont decide on fixtures or what matches England can or cant play, that's up to the ECB. If Sky ever decided that Test cricket was too long/boring they simply wouldnt bid for the rights to it and somebody else would pick it up.

It'd be good to see cricket back on the BBC although Channel 4's coverage was much better when they took the home Test matches apart from having adverts and who's to say they wouldnt bang it on BBC3 when anything else of interest was on anyway. I've been quite disappointed with sport on the BBC lately, their take on Dwain Chambers has had a horrible bias for instance, so if anything I'd prefer to see it on Channel 4 again even though Sky's coverage is better.

For those that dont have Sky Sports though they can watch it streamed over the internet

I dont agree with you there though, Sky pump a lot of money into the game by buying the tv rights but they dont decide on fixtures or what matches England can or cant play, that's up to the ECB. If Sky ever decided that Test cricket was too long/boring they simply wouldnt bid for the rights to it and somebody else would pick it up.

Consider this - so far hypothetical -possibility though:

Sky offers £500 million for a series of international Twenty20 matches, three a week for four months over the summer.

BBC1, or CH4, offers £15 million for live coverage of seven Test matches.

Sky still would not be "ordering" the ECB to scrap test matches, but ... that'd be a hell of a lot of incentive.

Until the days of sky I don’t remember seeing any of the local football teams on TV or every stroke of a Golf tournament or every over of a cricket match, people can knock sky prices but you can’t knock their coverage.

Consider this - so far hypothetical -possibility though:

 

Sky offers £500 million for a series of international Twenty20 matches, three a week for four months over the summer.

 

BBC1, or CH4, offers £15 million for live coverage of seven Test matches.

 

 

Sky still would not be "ordering" the ECB to scrap test matches, but ... that'd be a hell of a lot of incentive.

I see how you mean and you just have to look at the Allen Stanford series to see how much money talks. To be a bit pedantic though Sky would never pay massive money to sponsor events outright, its not how they make their money, although they would pay top dollar to broadcast something if another party did make such an offer. Another thing is that the ECB arrange the calendar years in advance so to bin a home Test series would be quite an effort and lets remember this is cricket and who runs it. Could you imagine the uproar at the MCC if the ECB even thought about shelving home Test matches!

Until the days of sky I don’t remember seeing any of the local football teams on TV or every stroke of a Golf tournament or every over of a cricket match, people can knock sky prices but you can’t knock their coverage.

I think you're completely wrong mate.

The golf was always on BBC, as was every home Test and one day international, and various one day County Cup matches.

There was a live football match on ITV every Sunday afternoon from about 1985-1992 from the top flight, and then (depending on which region you were watching) a match from the lower divisions featuring a side from your region until about 1995. I could pick up Central, so there was always a match on, but local sides were featured regularly on Yorkshire, and at the time, it couldn't even be Weeds.

Local sides weren't regularly featured on the live Sunday matches because most of us, as is still the case, were hiding in Division Two or below.

The home nations' international fixtures were always on terrestrial TV, home or away, albeit split between the constituent nations local BBC networks.

Rugby Special was a mainstay of Sunday afternoons on BBC2, and there would often be live matches, especially Pilkington Cup matches.

In pure broadcasting terms, what Sky have done is to bring a myriad of options. The sport itself was always available regularly, all year round, on terrestrial TV.

Quite agree HappyHippy, Sky are just greedy so and so's who don't like sharing. Setanta offer a wide range with value for money, free even if you have the XL tv package with Virgin and no "sparklies" when it snows.

I think you're completely wrong mate.

 

In pure broadcasting terms, what Sky have done is to bring a myriad of options. The sport itself was always available regularly, all year round, on terrestrial TV.

My memory must be fading then, I remember sport being a Saturday afternoon event with a rushed mix-match of events the highlight being wrestling , football was one or two selected games unless you count match of the days quick whip-round of the games and there was the odd European game if the satellite link held out for a full match.

The BBC and ITV cherry picked events there wasn’t the range there is available today if you want to pay for it, I have even seen Rotherham United on Sky, could you have ever seen Rotherham on the BBC.

The BBC and ITV cherry picked events there wasn’t the range there is available today if you want to pay for it, I have even seen Rotherham United on Sky, could you have ever seen Rotherham on the BBC.

That's fair enough but this thread is about Sky killing test cricket, not Rotherham United. If Sky demonstrated a commitment to the county game by showing a 4-day game between Northants and Leicestershire for example and left the test cricket to terrestrial TV that's be fair enough, but the point of this thread is that their dominance means there's no cricket on terrestrial TV, thus public interest in the game from the more casual fan is diminishing.

That's fair enough but this thread is about Sky killing test cricket, not Rotherham United. If Sky demonstrated a commitment to the county game by showing a 4-day game between Northants and Leicestershire for example and left the test cricket to terrestrial TV that's be fair enough, but the point of this thread is that their dominance means there's no cricket on terrestrial TV, thus public interest in the game from the more casual fan is diminishing.

We have gone of track slightly and I don’t want to comment on cricket coverage as I don’t watch that much but as mentioned in your first post I remember playing it all-day in the summer likewise I remember playing football on the street / park.

You don’t see gangs of kids having a kick about like you used to do so maybe it’s a social thing and sport in general rather than just cricket.

That's fair enough but this thread is about Sky killing test cricket, not Rotherham United. If Sky demonstrated a commitment to the county game by showing a 4-day game between Northants and Leicestershire for example and left the test cricket to terrestrial TV that's be fair enough, but the point of this thread is that their dominance means there's no cricket on terrestrial TV, thus public interest in the game from the more casual fan is diminishing.

Sky show plenty of County cricket, much more than has ever been on terrestrial tv anyway but you couldnt force them to show 4day games like the one you mentioned as nobody'd watch it, just look at the ground attendances. The best way of increasing public interest in the game imo would be to get 20/20 on terrestrial. Max exposure as its on in the evening during peak viewing hours when kids are home from school and it makes much better tv than Test matches. Kids these days see Test matches and just think theyre boring, theres not enough stimulation for those with shorter concentration spans and they simply wouldnt want to sit in all day watching a team try save a game by scoring at 2 runs per over, they wouldnt appreciate it.

theres not enough stimulation for those with shorter concentration spans and they simply wouldnt want to sit in all day watching a team try save a game by scoring at 2 runs per over, they wouldnt appreciate it.

Good point it’s a bit like trying to tell them to ditch their Xbox and learn the finer points of a game of chess.