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TalkSPORT Outbids BBC For England Cricket Broadcasting Rights

Coverage of the matches from Sri Lanka and the West Indies will air on talkSPORT and talkSPORT2.GETTY IMAGES

The BBC "suffered a significant setback" after being outbid for the radio broadcasting rights for England's cricket tours to Sri Lanka and the West Indies next winter, according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. The live ball-by-ball radio rights were bought by talkSPORT, which is also "close to sealing an agreement for the same rights for England's tour to South Africa" in '19-20. It is the first time that the BBC's Test Match Special has lost the rights since '04-05, when it was also outbid by talkSPORT for England's tour to South Africa. The move "will disappoint some cricket purists, but there has been concern for some time inside the BBC about increased competition from talkSPORT" after its owner, Wireless Group, was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News UK. TalkSPORT's free-to-air rights will cover all the test matches, one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches from each tour (LONDON TIMES, 4/18). In London, Daniel Zeqiri reported Wireless Group CEO Scott Taunton said, "Winning these prestigious rights is a great victory for Talksport and its first-class coverage." TMS will still have ball-by-ball radio coverage of England's test series against Pakistan and India on home soil this summer (TELEGRAPH, 4/18).

'NATIONAL DISGRACE': The BBC reported many cricket fans "reacted with dismay" to BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew's retweet of TalkSport's announcement, with one calling it "a national disgrace." Another user wrote, "This is literally the worst thing I have ever read on Twitter." Yet some fans have been "more moderate," with one calling on listeners to "give TS [TalkSport] a chance before passing judgement" (BBC, 4/18). In London, Jack Bezants reported Agnew "said sorry to listeners" after the BBC lost the free-to-air radio rights for England's upcoming tours (DAILY MAIL, 4/18).

COMMENTATORS CLASH: Ziegler also reported Agnew became "embroiled in a row with a rival station's presenter" after his social media response to talkSPORT winning the radio rights for England's winter tours. The tweet "provoked an angry response" from talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham, who suggested that Agnew was "having a dig at the quality of the station's coverage and its cricket experts," such as the former Yorkshire and England bowler Darren Gough. Durham said on Twitter that he had seen similar criticism from "BBC types" when talkSPORT won rights for major football tournaments (LONDON TIMES, 4/19). 

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