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Cricket: New plea to lift TV controls

Myles Hodgson
Tuesday 12 May 1998 23:02 BST
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LORD'S officials yesterday reinforced their warning that cricket's future as England's premier summer sport is under threat if the Government refuses to take home Test matches off the list of protected broadcast events.

All England's home Tests are on a list including the Wimbledon tennis finals, the FA Cup final, the Derby, the Grand National and the Olympics for which live coverage outside must available on terrestrial television.

At the launch of the England and Wales Cricket Board's first cricket report at Edgbaston yesterday, the chairman, Lord MacLaurin, and the chief executive, Tim Lamb, again warned about the difficult future cricket may face unless they have the opportunity to negotiate in an open market place.

The ECB, which showed an annual revenue of pounds 65m in the report, says that implementing its national development plan to improve facilities, coaching and opportunities within the sport would cost about pounds 300m.

It argues that about 40 per cent of cricket's income is from television revenue and unless it has an opportunity to increase that income, cricket could suffer in competition with other summer sports like rugby league, tennis and athletics.

The topic is being assessed by an advisory committee, who have recommended that cricket is removed from the list, before the Heritage Secretary, Chris Smith, gives his final decision later this month.

The ECB's joint deal with the BBC and Sky for home Test matches, was worth about pounds 60m over the past four years.

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