Cricket on TV in the UK

**geoff_boycotts_grandmother** · 4th January 2021, 15:05

With increasing fragmentation of the TV market - and Amazon reportedly trying to get in on the action as well - I thought it might be useful, for me at least, to have a thread keeping track of who is showing what.

Disappointingly, the only live cricket Sky seem to be showing at the moment is SA v SL.

Will Sky have Eng in SL?

I turned on to try and watch Aus v Ind, the intriguing NZ v Pak series and the Big Bash but they don't appear to be covering them. Are these all with BT?

Are the Sheffield Shield games available anywhere eg Youtube/CA streams?

**Chin Music** · 4th January 2021, 15:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff_boycotts_grandmother

With increasing fragmentation of the TV market - and Amazon reportedly trying to get in on the action as well - I thought it might be useful, for me at least, to have a thread keeping track of who is showing what.

Disappointingly, the only live cricket Sky seem to be showing at the moment is SA v SL.

Will Sky have Eng in SL?

I turned on to try and watch Aus v Ind, the intriguing NZ v Pak series and the Big Bash but they don't appear to be covering them. Are these all with BT?

Are the Sheffield Shield games available anywhere eg Youtube/CA streams?

BT have Aus v Ind, NZ v Pak and Big Bash. Sky have Eng in SL. I presume MRNC and Tony are well versed as to where you can get Shield links.

Ali TT · 4th January 2021, 21:22

BT are also showing the super slam, or whatever the New Zealand version of the Big Bash is.

Sir Coolerking · 5th January 2021, 12:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali TT

BT are also showing the super slam, or whatever the New Zealand version of the Big Bash is.

It's the Super Smash, as presumably they were the only 2 words still available from all other T20 domestic competitions.

With no foreign mercenaries involved, the Test team in action and seemingly a number of other limited overs specialists on holiday (eg Neesham), it's pretty low grade stuff.

Having said that, I bet they'd all beat the Melbourne Renegades!!

REDROSEFOREVER · 11th January 2021, 19:35

I was surprised to see significant crowds at the Test match and the T20 games. They are a bit restricted in numbers, but it shows that Australia and New Zealand have not suffered anywhere near as badly as us in the pandemic.

Ali TT · 11th January 2021, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by REDROSEFOREVER

I was surprised to see significant crowds at the Test match and the T20 games. They are a bit restricted in numbers, but it shows that Australia and New Zealand have not suffered anywhere near as badly as us in the pandemic.

The crowd in Sydney today looked about typical for day 5 of a test down under

Jock McTuffnel v3 · 11th January 2021, 21:15

Sky have the summer sown up so I guess there is no fragmentation until potentially the Ashes next winter ?

sharky · 12th January 2021, 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jock McTuffnel v3

Sky have the summer sown up so I guess there is no fragmentation until potentially the Ashes next winter ?

It doesn't look like Sky are showing the series against India, there has always been some tough negotiating between Sky and the BCCI but this time it doesn't seem like Sky are all that bothered. I don't know whether they think there is probably a 50/50 chance that some of the tour will be cancelled so there's no real point spending a fortune on buying the rights.

Sir Coolerking · 12th January 2021, 14:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharky

It doesn't look like Sky are showing the series against India, there has always been some tough negotiating between Sky and the BCCI but this time it doesn't seem like Sky are all that bothered. I don't know whether they think there is probably a 50/50 chance that some of the tour will be cancelled so there's no real point spending a fortune on buying the rights.

Given we'll almost certainly still be in lockdown, you'd think the opportunity to make the most of a literally 'captive' audience would be one to make the most of, especially with the large Indian interest on these shores too.

I suspect someone will sign this up.

Jock McTuffnel v3 · 12th January 2021, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Coolerking

Given we'll almost certainly still be in lockdown, you'd think the opportunity to make the most of a literally 'captive' audience would be one to make the most of, especially with the large Indian interest on these shores too.

I suspect someone will sign this up.

I'd agree with that - perhaps it's going to go to the wire ? BT also in the mix ?

Long Off · 13th January 2021, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff_boycotts_grandmother

Are the Sheffield Shield games available anywhere eg Youtube/CA streams?

Hi mate, long time. This year they played them on Kayo (FoxSports Streaming service).

offa59 · 13th January 2021, 18:16

There was talk a few weeks ago about Disney showing the India v England series,
Amazon was mentioned as well.
I will not be forking out for anymore subscriptions.

Ali TT · 13th January 2021, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by offa59

There was talk a few weeks ago about Disney showing the India v England series,
Amazon was mentioned as well.
I will not be forking out for anymore subscriptions.

The rights were won by the Indian channel StarSports, who are owned by Disney. You can subscribe to Star in the UK, but there was a suggestion that Disney+ might also show the latter part of the test series.

In the past Star have bartered with Sky so they can show the matches in the UK, but maybe they fancy they can earn more from keeping hold of them this time. Or Sky are a bit short of cash.

Jock McTuffnel v3 · 13th January 2021, 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali TT

The rights were won by the Indian channel StarSports, who are owned by Disney. You can subscribe to Star in the UK, but there was a suggestion that Disney+ might also show the latter part of the test series.

In the past Star have bartered with Sky so they can show the matches in the UK, but maybe they fancy they can earn more from keeping hold of them this time. Or Sky are a bit short of cash.

I've got Disney+ for the Mandalorian - so that would work.

"Leach from the City End - it is the way"

Supersax · 14th January 2021, 13:59

Freesports have been showing the UAE v Ireland ODI series (well the little that has taken place). the next game is scheduled for Saturday

https://www.freesports.tv/our-sports/cricket.html

Rebelstar · 14th January 2021, 21:06

read the title and thought "WHAT cricket on TV in the UK.............!?!?!??!?"

Didn't they produce figures that showed since the Ashes 2005 with terrific viewing figures that s*y gets a fraction of those viewers in the Ashes..? I vaguely recall some stat that may have said as many watched the last day of the last Test in 2005 as watched the whole of one Ashes on s*y

Freesports or some channel(s) that were thereabouts did show some like UAE domestic T20 or something like that, but they disappeared off Freesat as often is the shenanigans faced - decent channels like Now80sTV going on and off Freesat

**geoff_boycotts_grandmother** · 15th January 2021, 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Long Off

Hi mate, long time. This year they played them on Kayo (FoxSports Streaming service).

Hey, hope all's well with you.

Do you need a subscription for that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supersax

Freesports have been showing the UAE v Ireland ODI series (well the little that has taken place). the next game is scheduled for Saturday

https://www.freesports.tv/our-sports/cricket.html

Next one appears to be Monday but this seems to be a good little find. I might try and catch some of that Abu Dhabi T10 at the end of the month as well.

Michelle Fivefer · 15th January 2021, 20:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebelstar

read the title and thought "WHAT cricket on TV in the UK.............!?!?!??!?"

Didn't they produce figures that showed since the Ashes 2005 with terrific viewing figures that s*y gets a fraction of those viewers in the Ashes..? I vaguely recall some stat that may have said as many watched the last day of the last Test in 2005 as watched the whole of one Ashes on s*y

Freesports or some channel(s) that were thereabouts did show some like UAE domestic T20 or something like that, but they disappeared off Freesat as often is the shenanigans faced - decent channels like Now80sTV going on and off Freesat

Nevertheless Sky is the channel that provides the best coverage of international cricket. The best technology, ever improving, the best commentary teams- give or take the odd individual whose commentary and/or views drive you mad. The best method of commentating, definitely with just two people o each shift. Listening to Australian commentary with its groups of three each trying to get a word in is painful.

As well as the matches themselves there are discussion shows and cricket documentaries.

I wouldn’t be without it!

Aidan11 · 18th January 2021, 12:42

Finally the UAE and Ireland get to play a second ODI (officially the 4th) live on Freesports. Ireland are well on top in this game.

paulsre · 19th January 2021, 13:08

As mentioned at the beginning, the market is becoming increasingly fragmented.

On one hand, 2020 was something of a watershed year for me in terms of being able to view stuff. Once equipped with a smart TV, YouTube and Facebook Watch really become on-demand TV channels, and with the range of coverage accelerated last year, I was able to watch, for example, matches streamed by Surrey and Somerset to a very reasonable standard.

Just this week, thanks to Sri Lanka Cricket, I have been able to watch the highlights of the Sri Lanka v England Test, on YouTube, which was unthinkable before, and is absolutely great to have (this I accessed from Sweden, I don't know if it's available in the UK).

All this kind of stuff is surely only going to get better.

On the other hand, what I find very frustrating is the lack of access to a lot of archive material. Before, one could buy several DVDs every year, some with extensive material (such as the 5-DVD box set of the 2005 Ashes). In recent years, these have dried up to nothing. Yet they are not available on line - for example, the only online access to the 2019 World Cup final is an 8-minute clip on the ICC site, which I find absolutely staggering.

With the ease of placing stuff online, surely there must be a global market for the highlights of every televised match anywhere being placed online on YouTube, where at least they would gain a bit of revenue through advertising.

There is stuff on YouTube with which one can be entertained, but it's totally random and requires a fair bit of mining to discover (see another thread I created about this). A typical example of this utter randomness is that all four 2015 T20 Blast quarter-finals are on YouTube in full, but there is little else.

4th January 2021, 21:22	#3
Ali TT Posting God Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 24,650	BT are also showing the super slam, or whatever the New Zealand version of the Big Bash is. __________________ WARNING Reading the above post may cause bouts of nausea.

11th January 2021, 21:15	#7
Jock McTuffnel v3 Posting God Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cambridge Team(s): England Posts: 10,495	Sky have the summer sown up so I guess there is no fragmentation until potentially the Ashes next winter ? __________________

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11th January 2021, 19:35	#5
REDROSEFOREVER Club Cricketer Join Date: Aug 2019 Posts: 165	I was surprised to see significant crowds at the Test match and the T20 games. They are a bit restricted in numbers, but it shows that Australia and New Zealand have not suffered anywhere near as badly as us in the pandemic.

13th January 2021, 18:16	#12
offa59 Club Cricketer Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 171	There was talk a few weeks ago about Disney showing the India v England series, Amazon was mentioned as well. I will not be forking out for anymore subscriptions.

14th January 2021, 13:59	#15
Supersax County 1st Team Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Derbyshire Team(s): Nottinghamshire Posts: 444	Freesports have been showing the UAE v Ireland ODI series (well the little that has taken place). the next game is scheduled for Saturday https://www.freesports.tv/our-sports/cricket.html

14th January 2021, 21:06	#16
Rebelstar International Cricketer Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 2,913	read the title and thought "WHAT cricket on TV in the UK.............!?!?!??!?" Didn't they produce figures that showed since the Ashes 2005 with terrific viewing figures that sy gets a fraction of those viewers in the Ashes..? I vaguely recall some stat that may have said as many watched the last day of the last Test in 2005 as watched the whole of one Ashes on sy Freesports or some channel(s) that were thereabouts did show some like UAE domestic T20 or something like that, but they disappeared off Freesat as often is the shenanigans faced - decent channels like Now80sTV going on and off Freesat

18th January 2021, 12:42	#19
Aidan11 Harmisonesque Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Somewhere cold and wet Posts: 43,391	Finally the UAE and Ireland get to play a second ODI (officially the 4th) live on Freesports. Ireland are well on top in this game.

19th January 2021, 13:08	#20
paulsre World Class Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: In a class 101 Met Cam time machine to the past Team(s): Stockholm Taverners CC, Farsta BCCE, County cricket, MCCU cricket, England, Scarborough CC Posts: 7,231	As mentioned at the beginning, the market is becoming increasingly fragmented. On one hand, 2020 was something of a watershed year for me in terms of being able to view stuff. Once equipped with a smart TV, YouTube and Facebook Watch really become on-demand TV channels, and with the range of coverage accelerated last year, I was able to watch, for example, matches streamed by Surrey and Somerset to a very reasonable standard. Just this week, thanks to Sri Lanka Cricket, I have been able to watch the highlights of the Sri Lanka v England Test, on YouTube, which was unthinkable before, and is absolutely great to have (this I accessed from Sweden, I don't know if it's available in the UK). All this kind of stuff is surely only going to get better. On the other hand, what I find very frustrating is the lack of access to a lot of archive material. Before, one could buy several DVDs every year, some with extensive material (such as the 5-DVD box set of the 2005 Ashes). In recent years, these have dried up to nothing. Yet they are not available on line - for example, the only online access to the 2019 World Cup final is an 8-minute clip on the ICC site, which I find absolutely staggering. With the ease of placing stuff online, surely there must be a global market for the highlights of every televised match anywhere being placed online on YouTube, where at least they would gain a bit of revenue through advertising. There is stuff on YouTube with which one can be entertained, but it's totally random and requires a fair bit of mining to discover (see another thread I created about this). A typical example of this utter randomness is that all four 2015 T20 Blast quarter-finals are on YouTube in full, but there is little else.