Live English cricket "will return" to British terrestrial TV "for the first time in more than a decade" after the sport's governing body announced a new £1.1B ($1.45B) broadcasting deal with Sky and the BBC, according to Murad Ahmed of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The England & Wales Cricket board announced on Friday that it agreed to a five-year deal with the two broadcasters that will start in '20. The contract "represents a significant increase from its current exclusive deal with Sky." Sky "will continue to have sole rights to England home test matches" -- the five-day, elite format of the game -- and most other int'l and domestic games. However, the BBC "will also screen a number of live matches." These include two England men's int'l Twenty20 games and 10 matches of a new eight-team domestic T20 competition, including the final (FT, 6/30). In London, Martin & Kelner reported ECB CEO Tom Harrison heralded the £1.1B broadcast deal with Sky and the BBC as a "game-changer" for the sport and one that, "in an era of increasing player power, will mean professionals are better paid than ever before." This combined £220M ($290M)-a-year deal is worth nearly three times the £75M ($99M) Sky now pays for its exclusive rights, "with the new free-to-air element representing a tacit admission" by the ECB that the subscription-only model in place since '06 "has shrunk the sport’s place" both in the national conversation and in terms of grassroots participation. Harrison: "It's a game-changer for cricket in this country, a groundbreaking moment for us, and we're extremely excited. We set out 18 months ago to get a balance of reach, revenue and exposure. The balance of those three things was the driver behind what was a very long process." By "increasing TV revenue so significantly, the ECB will be able to meet" its promised £1.3M ($1.7M)-a-year payments to each of the 18 counties "in exchange for voting through the as-yet unnamed" T20 tournament from '20 onward that will feature eight new regional teams based at the major int'l venues (GUARDIAN, 6/30).
NEW RELATIONSHIP: In London, Nick Hoult reported the deal "heralds a new relationship between the ECB and Sky with the satellite broadcaster promising to support initiatives to increase participation," a role that it has "previously held to be the responsibility of the board." The Sky deal "brings in the money, and the BBC content will please the more traditional audience," but it is the digital clips the corporation can promote on its Facebook pages and other social media channels that will "help the ECB reach the young audience it is desperate to attract to cricket." Other terrestrial rivals outbid the BBC but the offer of putting cricket on programs such as The One Show, promoting the new competition on radio and online, "was a massive opportunity for the ECB" (TELEGRAPH, 6/30).
'FANTASTIC' NEWS: BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew commented the ECB has recognized "the need to show free-to-air cricket -- the game urgently needs it." When Channel 4 lost the rights in '05, "there is no doubt participation levels and awareness of the game slumped dramatically." That, and the fact it has a new tournament starting in '20, "is what prompted the ECB to bring this deal forward." Former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom called the deal "fantastic" news. He said, "I think it's much-needed. After the 2005 Ashes, the intake of children taking up cricket has slowly gone downhill so I think it's amazing for cricket" (BBC, 6/30).
