I watched the WBBL highlights on their YouTube channel (shared with BBL*) this morning, and reckoned that Fox Cricket initially showed the world feed of Strikers v Heat by mistake. I noticed an on-screen logo of Baji by BJ88 on either side of the pitch. Baji is an online betting platform which I believe is illegal here in Australia.
*Cricket Australia opened the new Big Bash YouTube channel in August 22 (two months ago) to show match highlights, interviews and extras from both competitions. It covered the recent WBBL Spring Challenge.
The 80-minute documentary, Reignite: A Brisbane Heat Story, plots the Heat’s resurgence the following season as they made an unlikely BBL|12 Final appearance against Perth Scorchers before going one better 12 months later.
Produced by the club, the documentary will receive an exclusive premiere showing at Event Cinemas Chermside on November 28 followed by a limited public season at Event Cinemas.
It will also air on Channel 7 and be available to stream on demand through 7plus during the summer.
CA’s decision, which has been backed by broadcasters Fox Sports and Channel 7, was made easy because Australia Day – January 26, a Sunday – is also the date for the mega-rating Australia Open men’s tennis final.
“We determined January 27 was the best date for the BBL Final this season as it would give as many fans as possible the chance to attend or watch one of Australian sport’s great occasions,’’ a Cricket Australia spokesman said.
Trent Copeland should NOT be commentating Sydney Thunder games. He is the General Manager of the Club. There is a clear conflict of interest there. Seven have plenty of other commentators they can use.
CA have changed their tune, back in 2017 when the historic Williams sisters met in the Women’s Final on the Saturday 14 years after their last at Melbourne Park on Seven, it clashed with the BBL Final on Ten.
It was discussed in the lead-up how unfortunate that was, viewers having to choose, I remember former long-time entertainment scribe at the Herald Sun Luke Dennehy talking about it on 3AW radio’s Weekend Break with Grubby and Dee Dee that very day.
In the end, it was a resounding win to the tennis, a massive 1.5m metro watched and Seven stormed home in shares that night, possibly one of the highest rating womens matches in OzTAM history outside Ash Barty’s in 2022 (which broke the all-time record). @TV.Cynic can probably check and back-up this data.
So to me, this seems more Seven forced and perhaps they’ve educated CA (collaboratively with Foxtel) on ratings and TV matters, not that CA’s broadcast team are dumb, I’m sure they’re well aware of timeslots, other events and clashes and what serves each optimally, not to mention that crucial part of summer leading-in to the pivotal Q1 TV battle.
Maybe I may be a bit picky but would like the logos to be moved inwards towards the score slightly as depending on the TV some of the logo is cut off and doesn’t look very centred
Seven’s Head of Sport Digital, Kirsty Bradmore, said: “From this summer, Australians can at last watch cricket live and free on any device, anytime, anywhere.
“But on 7plus, the offering is much, much more than your traditional broadcast coverage. We’re introducing two distinct alternative commentaries this summer: the first is Hindi commentary for all Australia vs India Test matches, tapping into an audience with an unparalleled passion for the game.
“The second alternative commentary will be from the comedic duo The Grade Cricketer. Covering a selection of BBL matches, they will bring a light-hearted take on the games aimed at younger fans and die-hard supporters alike,” she said.
“Providing alternate streams on 7plus creates new opportunities to partner with Seven, including our short-form offering of bite-sized, consumable products, such as minis, highlights and full match replays.
“The 7plus Cricket Hub will showcase upcoming and live events, featuring countdowns and notifications for match start times,” Ms Bradmore said.
“BBL clubs will have dedicated hubs featuring curated content from the Seven team and bespoke content created by the clubs themselves. Additionally, 7plus will provide highlights for every match, including exclusive content from Fox, offering bite-sized summaries for those who missed the live streams.”
Where is Seven getting the Hindi commentary from? Unless there is more than one Indian broadcaster covering the matches. Foxtel is also providing Hindi commentary for the test series.
I think Star have to provide a feed to Doordarshan (the public broadcaster). Not sure if they do their own commentary on top though and even if they did, not sure they’d be allowed to sell it to an Australian broadcaster.
Doordarshan has to blackout the cricket on anything other than terrestrial and their own free satellite service, to protect the value of the rights for the rights holder.
SMH reports Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting may have to skip some of their commentary duties for Seven’s coverage of the first Australia v India test next week, as they will be in Saudi Arabia for the Indian Premier League player auction on November 24-25, which coincides with days three and four of the match.
