Strictly not a sport per se but Channel 4's aquisition of a third of WWE's PPVs in the year 2000 was shocking at the time as it seemingly came out of the blue.
Another thread bump for another anniversary of a rights announcement; 14 years ago today this deal was announced...
Wow I didn't realise BBC covered Test Cricket to 1998, when I first watched Cricket it was Channel 4 and they were brilliant. I wish the cricket could go back to channel 4, coming to think of it Channel 4 had some rights portfolio in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they had Horse Racing, Tour de France, Football Italia, NFL, NBA, WWF and now they only really have Horse Racing, some Paralympic Sport and 1 NFL match.
I suppose this deal was the start of the slippery slope for all Cricket to go to Sky and the same will probably happen with F1
Strictly not a sport per se but Channel 4's aquisition of a third of WWE's PPVs in the year 2000 was shocking at the time as it seemingly came out of the blue.
At this time Channel 4 showed WWF Heat on Sunday Afternoons on T4 which I used to watch all the time as I was 8 years old and I remember my brother recorded some of these on Video Tape such as the Royal Rumble but to have a WWF PPV on free tv is quite shocking indeed
Another thread bump for another anniversary of a rights announcement; 14 years ago today this deal was announced...
As someone who was brought up on the BBC test cricket coverage, all I can say is that moving to channel 4 was the best thing that happened. I agree with your sentiment about BBC and their generally wonderful coverage of most sports, but you cannot include cricket in that list. Channel 4 literally brought cricket coverage into the 21st century, the 2005 Ashes being some of the greatest sport ever shown on British TV. Cricket was popular again, and that wasn't just down to the players on the field, C4 played their part as well.
The real crime was test cricket going to Sky in 2005. I've barely watched a test match since Luckily I have the wonderful BBC radio coverage which more than makes up for it. Test match special is some of the best radio you will hear.
Wow I didn't realise BBC covered Test Cricket to 1998, when I first watched Cricket it was Channel 4 and they were brilliant. I wish the cricket could go back to channel 4, coming to think of it Channel 4 had some rights portfolio in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they had Horse Racing, Tour de France, Football Italia, NFL, NBA, WWF and now they only really have Horse Racing, some Paralympic Sport and 1 NFL match.
I suppose this deal was the start of the slippery slope for all Cricket to go to Sky and the same will probably happen with F1
At this time Channel 4 showed WWF Heat on Sunday Afternoons on T4 which I used to watch all the time as I was 8 years old and I remember my brother recorded some of these on Video Tape such as the Royal Rumble but to have a WWF PPV on free tv is quite shocking indeed
Channel 4 dropped the NFL and the NBA in the late 1990s. The NFL went to Channel 5 and the NBA went to ITV.
Channel 4 dropped the NFL and the NBA in the late 1990s. The NFL went to Channel 5 and the NBA went to ITV.
And they dropped Le tour de France after 2000.
It was around 1998 they dropped NFL - and - Championship Games (late game live, early game delayed until after the late game), Superbowl and the odd other occasion aside, it was mostly highlights. They've now got 16 live games - albeit in a very anti-social slot.
Football Italia was starting to become less of a permanent fixture by 2000.
I think sporter92 is rather remembering things being a bit better than they were. The Cricket deal did improve coverage, but it lead to a number of other sports C4 had shown over many years being let go.
It was around 1998 they dropped NFL - and - Championship Games (late game live, early game delayed until after the late game), Superbowl and the odd other occasion aside, it was mostly highlights. They've now got 16 live games - albeit in a very anti-social slot.
Football Italia was starting to become less of a permanent fixture by 2000.
I think sporter92 is rather remembering things being a bit better than they were. The Cricket deal did improve coverage, but it lead to a number of other sports C4 had shown over many years being let go.
I was only 8 in 2000 so maybe I am remembering them better than they were, the cricket was obviously excellent but now your saying it they must have led to the dropping of other sport
It was around 1998 they dropped NFL - and - Championship Games (late game live, early game delayed until after the late game), Superbowl and the odd other occasion aside, it was mostly highlights. They've now got 16 live games - albeit in a very anti-social slot.
Football Italia was starting to become less of a permanent fixture by 2000.
Yeah, the last season of live games was 2000-01 and then it was highlights alone in 2001-02, but one of the reasons why they got rid of that was because, in the past, the only other Sunday football was on Sky which few people had, whereas in 2001-02 you had more FA Cup than before on the Beeb, ITV had live Football League games on a regional basis, there were two Premier League games on a Sunday instead of one and more people had Sky so it just got crowded out with all the other football.
They dropped the NFL after the Superbowl in 1998 and I remember it being quite a surprise at the time, I think C4 just said, oh, we're dropping it, and the following season it was only on Sky with highlights on Channel Five. The Superbowl wasn't live on FTA again until 2003, I think, when Five signed a new deal, it was highlights only at the turn of the century. I seem to recall C4 got rid of it because they were getting too much stick for their schedule being full of US shows.
The NBA they only had for three years, I think, from 1995 to 1998, then ITV got the rights and showed the imaginatively titled NBA 99 (and later NBA 2000 and NBA 2001) on Saturday afternoons. As it was on the Beeb in the late eighties, it means it's been on all five terrestrial channels. As has the Superbowl, and test cricket.
Did BBC not lose rights to Football League highlights back some time in the 1980's and MOTD went into cold storage except for FA cup coverage for a few seasons? Also ITV had PL highlights rights for a few seasons not that long ago before they returned to BBC.
I seem to remember that when I first started out 'on the road' with BBC OBs in the late 80s, we hardly went to any football grounds. I suppose times change. It seems strange that many moons ago, I found myself spending lots of time at cricket venues - Trent Bridge, Headingley, Lords etc. Yet I have not been to a cricket venue since 1999 - the final of the cricket world cup at Lords.
Even remember doing a short notice cricket match at Taunton, which I suspect one of the venerable posters in this thread might well have been involved in.
As an aside, just when one is about to 'give up' on DS due to the (seemingly interminable) trolls and 'silly' threads, you come across a thread like this. Full of informative posts, insight, and 'insider' knowledge, making for a great and very interesting read.
Time to bump this thread as it's the first anniversary of this announcement
Contoversial as it was, because it was around the time of the phone hacking which brought the downfall of the News of the World (the last edition was published the previous Sunday last year) and the fact that a company which is part of the Rupert Murdoch empire will be showing F1 caused an enourmous amount of ire across the country. And once Sky break the monopoly that FTA broadcasters have on a sport, they will not let up and in the end, the FTA broadcasters end up retreating from covering the sport.
I think we need to keep a sense of perspective over the Channel 4 deal.
When they first got the rights, the then Head of Sport (I think it was Mark Sharman), was a huge cricket fan. He introduced the Cricket Roadshow on Saturday mornings, the live coverage was a breath of fresh air: fun, exciting and innovative (I wasn't too fussed on the graphics in the early years, but liked everything else).
As time went by, Channel 4 lost enthusiasm. The Head of Sport (Sharman?) left, and was replaced by someone who wasn't as passionate about cricket. The 'Roadshow' was replaced by 'The Cricket Show', a pre-recorded, shorter magazine programme, which would have been cheaper to produce. Also, in the final few years, the start of play time was moved to 10:30am and there was a policy of leaving at 6pm, as the Controller wanted to maximise audiences for The Simpsons/Hollyoaks.
The coverage itself of live cricket was fine in the last few years - the commentary team was even better with the introduction of the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Tony Greig, and the garish graphics of the early years had been replaced by some far better ones, BUT messing around with the start time and leaving early didn't bode well. They also got rid of prime time highlights, and showed them post-11pm, but eventually reintroduced a shortened, half-hour highlights programme at 7:30pm for the 2005 Ashes.
The biggest problem for Channel 4 was that, for the most part, the cricket didn't make any money (there were exceptions, such as the 2005 Ashes).
My understanding was that, post 2005, Channel 4 were offering to show some live Test cricket during the summer holidays, but that was about it - this is what I've heard on the grapevine, I can't confirm it. I think they were quite happy to let Sky have the early part of the summer.
I don't like the 'powers that be' at the ECB very much, but what options did they have post-2005?
- Sky Sports, giving them loads of money, showing the lot, in full.
- Reduced coverage on Channel 4, with the rest on Sky.
- The BBC didn't think they could offer the level of coverage viewers by now expected. Remember, during the BBC years, coverage would switch between BBC One and BBC Two throughout the day, they usually wouldn't be on air AT ALL during lunch. On Saturday and Sunday, action would be sandwiched around other things Grandstand were showing. If Royal Ascot or Wimbledon were on, coverage would be patchy.
Yes, I miss cricket on free-to-air TV. I find Sky's coverage bland, grey and formulaic in the main. The scorebar is too big and too intrusive. A box in the top right is more than enough. I also miss Sunday League cricket on Sunday afternoons during the BBC era, and the fun and innovation of the Channel 4 years. However, what else could the ECB have done?
Great post. Incisive and accurate. Your concerns over the graphics would lead anyone to believe you were from the the Production camp?
Having recently worked on darts for ESPN (Hull) I thought the GFX was lacking too. Like tennis, you need to know who 'batted' first? There was a very tiny indicator on the graphic that showed this, but even in the truck, on HD monitors, you had to look hard to see it. It shoulkd have been much more obvious, IMO.
ESPN are nice to work with though. The director was a lovely chap, despite his 'flu'.
Great post. Incisive and accurate. Your concerns over the graphics would lead anyone to believe you were from the the Production camp?
Having recently worked on darts for ESPN (Hull) I thought the GFX was lacking too. Like tennis, you need to know who 'batted' first? There was a very tiny indicator on the graphic that showed this, but even in the truck, on HD monitors, you had to look hard to see it. It shoulkd have been much more obvious, IMO.
ESPN are nice to work with though. The director was a lovely chap, despite his 'flu'.
Nah, I was still at school when Channel 4's coverage began, and had just left university when it ended. Nowadays I'm a journalist, working mainly in sport! I've done print and radio work, but haven't yet done anything in TV.
Everyone I know who has worked for ESPN say they're a nice company to work for. It's a shame they may not be around for much longer in Britain.
Nah, I was still at school when Channel 4's coverage began, and had just left university when it ended. Nowadays I'm a journalist, working mainly in sport! I've done print and radio work, but haven't yet done anything in TV.
Everyone I know who has worked for ESPN say they're a nice company to work for. It's a shame they may not be around for much longer in Britain.
Time for another thread bump (which is sort of topical)...
While his week there has been talk of part of a major sporting event going behind a paywall, it is worth reminding that 10 years ago this week, an announcement was made that this sport would be taking all of its live product behind a paywall, with no live coverage in any way shape or form on free-to-air television.
Time for another thread bump (which is sort of topical)...
While his week there has been talk of part of a major sporting event going behind a paywall, it is worth reminding that 10 years ago this week, an announcement was made that this sport would be taking all of its live product behind a paywall, with no live coverage in any way shape or form on free-to-air television.
Does anyone have any opinion on the result of this decision for English cricket? Obviously it preceded one of the most successful periods in the national teams history, but was coincidence or a direct result of increased revenue? What are participation figures like for cricket in general these days?
Does anyone have any opinion on the result of this decision for English cricket? Obviously it preceded one of the most successful periods in the national teams history, but was coincidence or a direct result of increased revenue? What are participation figures like for cricket in general these days?
England's most recent greatest period was 03 - 05 (from South Africa at the Oval in 03).
But they beat a relatively weak Australian team in 10 - 11 and India were without their main bowler in 11 when England became no.1.
They could easily have lost that Ashes series in 13.
They haven't beaten South Africa since 04 - 05.
That all happened when Sky were the sole broadcaster.
Well it's 20 years ago this week of the announcement of No. 3 on the list in the opening post. And as for No. 1, after the expiration of the current rights deal next month, live Formula 1 will all but disappear behind the Sky paywall, with the British Grand Prix excepted. But inbetween then, we saw the BBC retreat midway through the deal, following another Tory strangling of the Licence Fee, leading to more cuts, with them bailing out of F1 inbetween seasons, denying those that worked on F1 to say goodbye on-screen and Channel 4 picking up the slack from 2016 onwards. But even before C4 showed their first live F1 race, they were in effect a "dead broadcaster walking", as it was announced that Sky would show ALL the F1 races exclusively live - bar the British Grand Prix - for 6 years from 2019 onwards, but highlights and live coverage of the British Grand Prix would be available to a free-to-air broadcaster.
So what else has happened over the last three-and-a-half years which has been to the detriment of the FTA audience? For starters, all 4 days of the Open Golf championship went to Sky exclusively live from 2016 (the BBC showed highlights); ITV ceased to show live UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches at the end of the 2014-15 season, but showed highlights of the aformentioned competitions for the next 3 years as BT Sport held the live rights. But now ITV have no rights period, as BT Sport have not just live, but also highlights rights of those two competitions for the next 3 years.
However, it has been announced that BBC will be showing live English Cricket again for the first time in a generation in 2020, by way of an England T20 game, plus games from this mooted 100-ball tournament (T20 less 20). But that's not before the Cricket World Cup next year, which will be held in England, but will not have one ball covered live on free-to-air television in the host country.
Getting back to the IAAF/C4 deal. After the Delay stink C4 only covered the 2012 indoor champs and without Ortis. The IAAF then sold the rights back to the BEEB where they have been ever since.
Comments
Wow I didn't realise BBC covered Test Cricket to 1998, when I first watched Cricket it was Channel 4 and they were brilliant. I wish the cricket could go back to channel 4, coming to think of it Channel 4 had some rights portfolio in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they had Horse Racing, Tour de France, Football Italia, NFL, NBA, WWF and now they only really have Horse Racing, some Paralympic Sport and 1 NFL match.
I suppose this deal was the start of the slippery slope for all Cricket to go to Sky and the same will probably happen with F1
At this time Channel 4 showed WWF Heat on Sunday Afternoons on T4 which I used to watch all the time as I was 8 years old and I remember my brother recorded some of these on Video Tape such as the Royal Rumble but to have a WWF PPV on free tv is quite shocking indeed
As someone who was brought up on the BBC test cricket coverage, all I can say is that moving to channel 4 was the best thing that happened. I agree with your sentiment about BBC and their generally wonderful coverage of most sports, but you cannot include cricket in that list. Channel 4 literally brought cricket coverage into the 21st century, the 2005 Ashes being some of the greatest sport ever shown on British TV. Cricket was popular again, and that wasn't just down to the players on the field, C4 played their part as well.
The real crime was test cricket going to Sky in 2005. I've barely watched a test match since
Channel 4 dropped the NFL and the NBA in the late 1990s. The NFL went to Channel 5 and the NBA went to ITV.
It was around 1998 they dropped NFL - and - Championship Games (late game live, early game delayed until after the late game), Superbowl and the odd other occasion aside, it was mostly highlights. They've now got 16 live games - albeit in a very anti-social slot.
Football Italia was starting to become less of a permanent fixture by 2000.
I think sporter92 is rather remembering things being a bit better than they were. The Cricket deal did improve coverage, but it lead to a number of other sports C4 had shown over many years being let go.
I was only 8 in 2000 so maybe I am remembering them better than they were, the cricket was obviously excellent but now your saying it they must have led to the dropping of other sport
Yeah, the last season of live games was 2000-01 and then it was highlights alone in 2001-02, but one of the reasons why they got rid of that was because, in the past, the only other Sunday football was on Sky which few people had, whereas in 2001-02 you had more FA Cup than before on the Beeb, ITV had live Football League games on a regional basis, there were two Premier League games on a Sunday instead of one and more people had Sky so it just got crowded out with all the other football.
They dropped the NFL after the Superbowl in 1998 and I remember it being quite a surprise at the time, I think C4 just said, oh, we're dropping it, and the following season it was only on Sky with highlights on Channel Five. The Superbowl wasn't live on FTA again until 2003, I think, when Five signed a new deal, it was highlights only at the turn of the century. I seem to recall C4 got rid of it because they were getting too much stick for their schedule being full of US shows.
The NBA they only had for three years, I think, from 1995 to 1998, then ITV got the rights and showed the imaginatively titled NBA 99 (and later NBA 2000 and NBA 2001) on Saturday afternoons. As it was on the Beeb in the late eighties, it means it's been on all five terrestrial channels. As has the Superbowl, and test cricket.
I seem to remember that when I first started out 'on the road' with BBC OBs in the late 80s, we hardly went to any football grounds. I suppose times change. It seems strange that many moons ago, I found myself spending lots of time at cricket venues - Trent Bridge, Headingley, Lords etc. Yet I have not been to a cricket venue since 1999 - the final of the cricket world cup at Lords.
Even remember doing a short notice cricket match at Taunton, which I suspect one of the venerable posters in this thread might well have been involved in.
As an aside, just when one is about to 'give up' on DS due to the (seemingly interminable) trolls and 'silly' threads, you come across a thread like this. Full of informative posts, insight, and 'insider' knowledge, making for a great and very interesting read.
Thanks chaps
That's true. But they have also chosen another provider. Telegenic, I think?
Bit of an 'own goal' for the previous provider, but I'm not going into that here..
Right on the money, IMO. Good post.
Great post. Incisive and accurate. Your concerns over the graphics would lead anyone to believe you were from the the Production camp?
Having recently worked on darts for ESPN (Hull) I thought the GFX was lacking too. Like tennis, you need to know who 'batted' first? There was a very tiny indicator on the graphic that showed this, but even in the truck, on HD monitors, you had to look hard to see it. It shoulkd have been much more obvious, IMO.
ESPN are nice to work with though. The director was a lovely chap, despite his 'flu'.
Nah, I was still at school when Channel 4's coverage began, and had just left university when it ended. Nowadays I'm a journalist, working mainly in sport! I've done print and radio work, but haven't yet done anything in TV.
Everyone I know who has worked for ESPN say they're a nice company to work for. It's a shame they may not be around for much longer in Britain.
If that's the case, then the irony of that will be the fact they didn't go OTT when bidding for rights, unlike other broadcasters.
Of course, thanks
While his week there has been talk of part of a major sporting event going behind a paywall, it is worth reminding that 10 years ago this week, an announcement was made that this sport would be taking all of its live product behind a paywall, with no live coverage in any way shape or form on free-to-air television.
Does anyone have any opinion on the result of this decision for English cricket? Obviously it preceded one of the most successful periods in the national teams history, but was coincidence or a direct result of increased revenue? What are participation figures like for cricket in general these days?
England's most recent greatest period was 03 - 05 (from South Africa at the Oval in 03).
But they beat a relatively weak Australian team in 10 - 11 and India were without their main bowler in 11 when England became no.1.
They could easily have lost that Ashes series in 13.
They haven't beaten South Africa since 04 - 05.
That all happened when Sky were the sole broadcaster.
Well it's 20 years ago this week of the announcement of No. 3 on the list in the opening post. And as for No. 1, after the expiration of the current rights deal next month, live Formula 1 will all but disappear behind the Sky paywall, with the British Grand Prix excepted. But inbetween then, we saw the BBC retreat midway through the deal, following another Tory strangling of the Licence Fee, leading to more cuts, with them bailing out of F1 inbetween seasons, denying those that worked on F1 to say goodbye on-screen and Channel 4 picking up the slack from 2016 onwards. But even before C4 showed their first live F1 race, they were in effect a "dead broadcaster walking", as it was announced that Sky would show ALL the F1 races exclusively live - bar the British Grand Prix - for 6 years from 2019 onwards, but highlights and live coverage of the British Grand Prix would be available to a free-to-air broadcaster.
So what else has happened over the last three-and-a-half years which has been to the detriment of the FTA audience? For starters, all 4 days of the Open Golf championship went to Sky exclusively live from 2016 (the BBC showed highlights); ITV ceased to show live UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches at the end of the 2014-15 season, but showed highlights of the aformentioned competitions for the next 3 years as BT Sport held the live rights. But now ITV have no rights period, as BT Sport have not just live, but also highlights rights of those two competitions for the next 3 years.
However, it has been announced that BBC will be showing live English Cricket again for the first time in a generation in 2020, by way of an England T20 game, plus games from this mooted 100-ball tournament (T20 less 20). But that's not before the Cricket World Cup next year, which will be held in England, but will not have one ball covered live on free-to-air television in the host country.
Was it not Free to Air on YouTube?