Great news today that the Ashes may be returning to free-to-air TV. I'm sure all the credit for this must fall to the 27 members of 'Lets Have the 2013 Ashes on Free TV' Facebook group, so thankyou to all of you. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a small band of dedicated followers.
At this stage it's only a recommendation that the Ashes be restored to the 'Crown Jewels' list of sports. However, the Telegraph are pretty confident that it will happen, as the government seems sympathetic. A senior government source told the Sunday Telegraph: "It's a no-brainer. This is one thing we can do that chimes in with the wishes of millions of voters."
It would be an interesting call if it came down to a Cameron goverment to make the final decision. Wonder if the Sun might get a little bit more hostile if the Tories take away some of Mr Murdochs toys? However, I'm sure Gordon Brown will be delighted to make the decision himself, should be a much easier call than deciding whether to have an election.
Provisional score: General Public 1 Murdoch Empire 0
I'm afraid I'm not sold. Why not? Because it will only be the Ashes - no other Test series will be shown on terrestrial. Having the odd bit of cricket available every four years isn't even throwing a bone. It's sheer gimmickry.
ReplyDeleteTests should never have been taken off the A-list. High time they were put back on. And I hope everyone keeps campaigning until they are!
Fair point. I'd love to see a Tory government faced with taking the whole of cricket away from Sky/News International/the Sun.
ReplyDelete