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BBC Set To Lose Live Test Cricket To Sky

BBC Set To Lose Live Test Cricket To Sky

Two bastions of English traditionalism, the BBC and Test match cricket, are likely to break their historical bond as the sport becomes available to satellite television.

Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB has emerged as favourite to broadcast England’s home games following the announcement by Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, that cricket would no longer be the preserve of terrestrial television. Instead the sport will move to the ITC’s Group B of listed sporting events from Group A. In effect live television broadcast rights will be open to the highest bidder with the condition that highlights or delayed ‘live’ coverage are made available to other channels. Previously Test matches were listed as reserved events accessible for all television licence payers, and other sporting occasions such as Wimbledon, the Olympic Games, the FA Cup Final and the Grand National remain unaffected on the Group A list.

The move by the Government follows pressure from the England & Wales Cricket Board who had been lobbying for the right to maximise the price for which it could sell broadcasting rights. The ECB had been frustrated on what it saw as the block on accessing much needed income, whilst other sports like Premiership Football reaped the rewards of satellite coverage. Meanwhile the National Viewers & Listeners Association condemned the announcement citing that many of the daytime Test match viewers were elderly and so unlikely to have access to satellite broadcasts.

The full implications of the changes in the sporting broadcast law can be found on the ITC’s Website – http://www.itc.org.uk/.

Independent Television Commission: 0171 306 7743.

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