Shut your eyes and think of England.

[rich1uk]

So they say. Cricket also can't afford just to be on Sky, who are bankrolling cricket's journey into oblivion.

I think Labour hired consultants to come to the same conclusion in their last term, that some games should be on fta, but the Tories buried it on coming into power.

the games that would be most likely to promote participation by being on FTA are also the ones that SKY will consider integral to their package

I still don't buy the argument that a lack of cricket on FTA TV makes that much difference these days , do we really think kids are going to be sitting at home watching cricket on TV for hours on end in the middle of summer ? cricket is suffering because of the way everyone wants instant gratification, its suffering because of different priorities and vast range of alternatives kids have for their attention these days. not having it on FTA TV is just an easy target.

increasing participation in schools and getting kids playing cricket is more important imo

[Dr Cricket]

FTA is probably the cheapest and most likely option that will show instant/quick results which is what ECB/Government wants.
Although I agree more needs to be done on Schools and getting kids playing cricket but that will cost lots of money/time and ECB probably thinking getting some FTA is cheaper and less time consuming then spending so much more money and time in grass roots cricket.

By being in high School during 2005 and primary school during Channel 4 days I got to say no one hardly played cricket apart from about 10-30 Asian kids and even then it was impossible/difficult to play cricket since primary school won't allow to borrow equipments and at one point I think bringing own bats were banned.
We still somehow played cricket during breaks but it was so difficult since the School only really cared about football.

In high school no one really played cricket and more annoyingly the school didn't even teach it during PE with it mainly being Football, Rugby, Basketball although most of time I suspect Cricket just is so difficult to play at PE since pretty much everyone is bad at it and most of the time the PE Teacher have no idea of the rules or how to play the sport.
Only time I played Cricket in High School was the Cricket team which is again was full of Asian and Sport Day which the Cricket was a 5 minute game and quick cricket, Although the umpiring was shambolic to say the least got run out once for running past the stumps since the PE Teacher had no idea that past the box you are still in and not out.

They won't be no easy fix for the problem.

[rich1uk]

in 2005 bhav social media was barely in its infancy , the way people watch and receive entertainment, sports and news has changed dramatically in the last 10 years

there was a survey done recently , cant remember the exact numbers but hardly any u-16s even watch live TV anymore

[Dr Cricket]

in 2005 bhav social media was barely in its infancy , the way people watch and receive entertainment, sports and news has changed dramatically in the last 10 years

there was a survey done recently , cant remember the exact numbers but hardly any u-16s even watch live TV anymore

True I am at uni right now and no one watches live TV but that isn't the case with Sports.
You can't really watch sports on Delay apart from highlights.

[rich1uk]

in 2005 bhav social media was barely in its infancy , the way people watch and receive entertainment, sports and news has changed dramatically in the last 10 years

there was a survey done recently , cant remember the exact numbers but hardly any u-16s even watch live TV anymore

True I am at uni right now and no one watches live TV but that isn't the case with Sports.
You can't really watch sports on Delay apart from highlights.

I agree sports is an exception , I still maintain that having it on FTA wont make much difference as the people that need to be targeted are not likely to be watching it during the day anyway

the other thing about 2005 was the drama and quality of the series , do we think kids would be rushing out to play cricket after watching last years ashes ?

[rich1uk]

I also think there is a chicken and egg thing about the link between playing sports and watching sports

do kids play sport because they saw it on TV or do they watch it on TV because they are already interested in it because they play it ?

I can only speak for myself here but altho I got hooked on cricket from watching the 1981 ashes, the only reason I was even watching it in the first place was because I already played it at school and enjoyed it

[Arthur Crabtree]

in 2005 bhav social media was barely in its infancy , the way people watch and receive entertainment, sports and news has changed dramatically in the last 10 years

there was a survey done recently , cant remember the exact numbers but hardly any u-16s even watch live TV anymore

Didn't ITV's coverage of the IPL get an audience, presumably because it was on fta.

As has been suggested, sport is watched live. It's the only live tv most people watch, not just under sixteens.

[rich1uk]

in 2005 bhav social media was barely in its infancy , the way people watch and receive entertainment, sports and news has changed dramatically in the last 10 years

there was a survey done recently , cant remember the exact numbers but hardly any u-16s even watch live TV anymore

Didn't ITV's coverage of the IPL get an audience, presumably because it was on fta.

As has been suggested, sport is watched live. It's the only live tv most people watch, not just under sixteens.

and how many of that audience were people who weren't already interested in cricket ?

how many of them were the "target" audience for getting people to participate in cricket ?

[Arthur Crabtree]

I also think there is a chicken and egg thing about the link between playing sports and watching sports

do kids play sport because they saw it on TV or do they watch it on TV because they are already interested in it because they play it ?

I can only speak for myself here but altho I got hooked on cricket from watching the 1981 ashes, the only reason I was even watching it in the first place was because I already played it at school and enjoyed it

I got into it watching the charismatic 1976 West Indians on tv. There was loads of cricket at school, but I only got involved in playing because of that.

[Arthur Crabtree]

[


and how many of that audience were people who weren't already interested in cricket ?

how many of them were the "target" audience for getting people to participate in cricket ?

It suggests an interest that isn't being met.

[rich1uk]

this whole argument boils down to would the amount of money lost by having cricket on FTA damage the game more by not being able to fund programs like chance to shine, not being able to support counties and grass roots cricket as opposed to some romanticised notion that kids are going to pick up cricket bats and balls from being able to see cricket that they otherwise wouldn't because of it being limited to subscription TV

all of that without any real proof that having it on FTA would actually achieve that opposed to the real tangible impact the reduced funding would have

[rich1uk]

[


and how many of that audience were people who weren't already interested in cricket ?

how many of them were the "target" audience for getting people to participate in cricket ?

It suggests an interest that isn't being met.

no it suggests there are a lot of bored people who wanted something more interesting to watch than Jeremy kyle or homes under the hammer

[Arthur Crabtree]

Surely it's unarguable that people are going to get into a sport that they have no exposure to. Even if they play cricket at school, it doesn't mean they will start being interested in their county or national team. The two are different things. The future at least as much relies on watchers as doers.

[Dr Cricket]

I also think there is a chicken and egg thing about the link between playing sports and watching sports

do kids play sport because they saw it on TV or do they watch it on TV because they are already interested in it because they play it ?

I can only speak for myself here but altho I got hooked on cricket from watching the 1981 ashes, the only reason I was even watching it in the first place was because I already played it at school and enjoyed it

Tough one really since I hated Cricket when I was young since my dad use to watch it non-stop and then something clicked during the 2003 world cup where I just love it since then been pretty much watching/Playing cricket. Although I haven't played much cricket since 2010 because of School and exam which is probably another reason for decline in number tried to get into cricket recently but it is tough since I am not good enough to play cricket right now lost my bowling and batting far more difficult now because of the pace people bowl at when adults.

Cricket probably suffer because you can't really enjoy playing for your club if you not that great and Cricket is tough sport to master.
It be great if Cricket had more clubs for Adult beginners to play.
Since the level of cricket most clubs have is putting me off from joining a club and suspect that is the case for many other people.

[rich1uk]

Surely it's unarguable that people are going to get into a sport that they have no exposure to. Even if they play cricket at school, it doesn't mean they will start being interested in their county or national team. The two are different things. The future at least as much relies on watchers as doers.

who says they have no exposure to it ?

isn't playing the game in schools exposure ?

isn't being able to go along to a local club exposure ?

isn't having a highlights package on FTA in prime time, as we do for home series exposure ?

what would be the point in having all these assumed masses flocking to schools or local cricket clubs to play if said schools and clubs have no money for coaches or equipment ?