Cricket on the tv, commentary on the radio - the bliss of summers - until 2005. 15 years ago. I've never seen a single one if james Anderson's wickets or any of Straus' runs. Two top careers I’ve never seen. Think 9f the kids in the same boat who now grow up not following a sport they can't access. All down to greed.
I think these are two different issues, the total lack of live cricket on terrestrial TV isn't to be welcomed at all. For me I'd rather a channel that covered it properly in the past when given the chance, channel 4 or even channel 5 who took highlights when noone else bid, and was able to do it justice, rather than the bbc. I've just too many bad memories of their shocking and shoddy treatment. I totally agree though that it's massively missed.
However I wouldn't conflate that with greed at all, cricket absolutely needed the money, desperately so considering the parlous state of some of the counties. Sky stepped in offering a lifeline, the alternative was huge cost cutting with many counties going to the wall and jobs lost right left and centre. Cricketers even relatively top first class cricketers had to have jobs outside of the game in the summer months, only very recognised names made any money, and nothing like even other less well paid sports.
The BBC paid buttons for decades, having a monopoly on the rights, it thought it would always have them and invested nothing at all, relegated it to non coverage whenever any other sport was taking place, even trooping of the colour took precedence. It's actual coverage was absolutely abysmal with a fixed camera at just one end of the ground, so behind the keeper every other over, your view being totally obscured by the keeper, stumps and batsman, seeing how the ball behaved being absolutely impossible. The highlights were shown on the graveyard slot in the TV schedule, very late night or even early morning. In 2005 channel 4 made a counter offer and the TCCB couldn't get away fast enough. Channel 4 showed just how poor a job the BBC had been doing for years, it revolutionised coverage, analysis and actually invested in a few more cameras to cover it properly. Sky's offer came just in time as channel 4 could justify covering the ashes but not every series every summer against any non Aussie team. Their coverage just took it a stage further and improved matters again.
So while the need to get it back on terrestrial is very urgent and imperative, without Sky first class cricket might not even exist to the extent it does, it can't be just dismisses as greed, that's just simplistic and totally wrong imo.
