Broadcasting Rights for Cricket

Book excerpt: Public interest in the recent Ashes test series served to heighten the anger about the removal of Test cricket from free-to-air television. This report looks at the contract between the ECB and Sky; the statutory framework behind the listing of sporting events; the reasons for excluding test cricket from the A list; and the gentleman's agreement, that had existed, that a substantial proportion of Test cricket would be maintained on free-to-air channels. Although the Committee supports the idea of free-to-air broadcasting they do not recommend re-listing in Group A. They recognise that the ECB is best qualified to judge the long-term interests of the game but that they must also balance the public interest.