midfielder
Well-Known Member
I have often bemoaned the lack of Football coverage on the ABC during summer... The A-League gets in comparison to cricket quite a small coverage ... especially the Shield matches...
The A-League on every measurable level is superior to Shield matches yet endlessly ball by ball over the summer when test or ODI are not being called a shield match is called ... beyond this shield matches are discussed at length... in short many on the ABC sports pay rolls are cricket folk and or AFL / NRL folk who have cricket as their second sport...
Today the ABC warned CA not to take them for granted as some commercial radio stations want exclusive call rights on certain cricket products .... The ABC have said other sports would love our coverage and I agree ... this is a very interesting space to watch...
The A-League on every measurable level is superior to Shield matches yet endlessly ball by ball over the summer when test or ODI are not being called a shield match is called ... beyond this shield matches are discussed at length... in short many on the ABC sports pay rolls are cricket folk and or AFL / NRL folk who have cricket as their second sport...
Today the ABC warned CA not to take them for granted as some commercial radio stations want exclusive call rights on certain cricket products .... The ABC have said other sports would love our coverage and I agree ... this is a very interesting space to watch...
http://m.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/mark-scott-warns-cricket-australia-20131004-2uytp.html
ABC boss Mark Scott has warned Cricket Australia that the summer game risks being sidelined by rival sports if it takes for granted its traditional place on the public broadcaster's airwaves.
In response to Fairfax Media's revelation that the ABC is set to lose its exclusive radio rights to Test cricket in Australia and be frozen out of domestic cricket, Scott questioned whether commercial networks would show the same commitment to the sport.
"Commercial networks might want to pick it up - it's an Ashes summer - but our audiences know that when Pakistan and New Zealand are touring we will be there as well," the managing director said on the ABC's morning program.
"We're not just going to cherry pick the big tours, we are there for the long haul. I'll be very interested whether there is a viable commercial audience for Test cricket, with the ABC ... [we are] commercial-free, with our expertise on air.
"I don't want Cricket Australia to take us for granted, just because we have been doing it for decades.
"We are very disappointed, frankly, that Cricket Australia won't let the ABC stream the cricket Tests on ABC websites. Cricket Australia should also be aware that there are many different sports knocking on our door desperate to get coverage on ABC Grandstand. We'll be making some announcements around that in coming weeks. Grandstand will still be the home of sport in summer and it will still be the home of cricket."
CA is deep in negotiations with Fairfax Radio, which owns 3AW in Melbourne and 2UE in Sydney, to cover Tests alongside the ABC, while Triple M has picked up the rights to the Twenty20 Big Bash League. The ABC is expected to devote more time to soccer's A-League - one of cricket's main summer rivals - in the absence of the BBL.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, which is still being negotiated, the ABC would not be allowed to broadcast the Sheffield Shield, the Ryobi Cup or the BBL.