Sky wins English TV rights

David Morgan: 'We have guaranteed uninterrupted ball-by-ball coverage of all international cricket' © Getty Images

Coverage of England's home Test matches will be missing from terrestrial television for the first time since the Second World War in 2006, after the ECB concluded a four-year deal giving Sky TV exclusive rights to screen England's home Tests and one-day internationals. The contract is said to be worth close to £220million and, according to the ECB, will "secure the future of cricket from playground to Test arena".

One crumb of comfort for those without a satellite dish or cable link is that highlights will be shown on Channel Five, usually at the peak-time evening slot of 7.15pm.

Meanwhile BBC Radio retains its exclusive radio-commentary rights to all home international cricket, as well as the non-exclusive rights to cover domestic county cricket. The Wireless Group, the owners of TalkSport radio, have been awarded the non-exclusive rights to provide live commentary of Twenty20 Cup games.

The major international touring teams during the years of the contract are Sri Lanka and Pakistan (2006), India and West Indies (2007), Zimbabwe and South Africa (2008), and New Zealand and Australia (2009).

David Morgan, the ECB chairman, explained the decision: "This is a very good deal for cricket. We have guaranteed a wide accessibility to cricket across a number of media platforms and have financially secured the future of the game," he said. "We have guaranteed uninterrupted ball-by-ball coverage of all international cricket, coverage which will not be restricted by other scheduling pressures. This will be on Sky Sports with its fast-growing subscriber base.

"We have also ensured more convenient and consistent access to cricket for many people on terrestrial TV by guaranteeing the broadcast of highlights from 7.15-8pm. This is when an average of 21 million watch TV, compared to an average of 5-11 million people from 11am-5pm, and is the most popular time for children to watch television during the day."

The decision means, of course, that Channel 4's award-winning coverage will stop after next year's Ashes series. Morgan paid tribute to their efforts: "The ECB Management Board would like to thank Channel 4 for their excellent coverage of cricket and support of the game. We are, of course, looking forward to continuing our partnership with them next year with their coverage of the Ashes series."

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