Cricket will have to be quick on its feet to cash in on new media
THE way that cricket sells its broadcasting rights could change out of all recognition over the next decade – making deals like the one recently sealed by the ECB a thing of the past.
That’s the view of Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at Salford University, who believes that the inexorable growth of social media coupled with constantly evolving consumption trends means that the landscape of sports broadcasting could change radically in the coming years.
The ECB’s recent broadcast deal with Sky and the BBC was trumpeted as a success for all parties involved. A deal worth £1.1bn over five years resulted in Sky extending its relationship with English cricket’s governing body until 2024 but also marked the BBC re-entering the market for the first time since 1999.
It is what follows in 2024, however, that could revolutionise the way that the next generation of cricket fans enjoy the sport.
Chadwick said:“The nature of the market is changing and the nature of organisations like the BBC and Sky often mean that they’re too slow to react and respond to what’s happening in terms of consumption habits – the way the younger generation is now watching sport.
“You could even argue that Facebook might fall into that category in the not too distant future.
“The market is changing so rapidly, it’s so dynamic that companies have to be very creative and very nimble to respond.
“I think in five or ten years time we’ll have new providers delivering content, companies that don’t even exist yet. This is a new industrial revolution, the fundamental structure of everything is starting to change.”
Companies such as Twitter are already beginning to become involved in the live broadcasting of sporting events. The PGA golf tour, for example, can already be viewed live on the service.
Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook are also thought to be interested in bidding for highlights of World Cup matches from Russia 2018 next summer.
With the BBC already providing highlight clips of both domestic and international cricket on their digital platforms, it’s not inconceivable that cricket might attract similar interest, particularly given the sport’s popularity in India.
“Consumers now want to be involved in the co-creation of a product,” said Chadwick. “Before, people would just sit there and consume sport passively. The next generation want to be able to film things on their smart phones, they want to be able to almost ‘live’ the action themselves.
“There’s a tendency out there to say that the strong sports will get stronger and the weaker sports will get weaker with football crowding out sports like cricket. In reality, it may well be an opportunity for cricket to take advantage of what’s out there.
“Look at the social media they’re doing around Wimbledon and it’s way ahead of what a lot of sports are capable of at the moment. Wimbledon is far more progressive in the way it’s embracing social media and digital. Arguably cricket is ahead of football at the moment, too.”