SBS secures Ashes rights

[Sportz]

From sportal.com.au

SBS secures Ashes rights
Sportal

SBS will broadcast the five-Test Ashes series live from England from July to September. SBS Managing Director Nigel Milan said the network has signed the agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board and aimed to provide the best possible coverage of the event. "SBS is a strong supporter of the anti-siphoning rules and believes that this Ashes series should be on free-to-air television in accordance with the spirit of those rules," he said. "With the commercial networks uninterested and the ABC unable to reach agreement, SBS felt that as a national public broadcaster we should respond to the public clamour for the series to be available on free-to-air television. We are doing this as a service to the community. If we had not acted, we believe only pay television audiences would get to see the series," he said. Milan said the network had adjusted its schedule to maximise coverage of the Ashes series and, at the same time, meet pre-existing sport commitments. He added coverage will commence at the beginning of the first session each day and only the middle sessions during the first test would be interrupted by SBS's long-standing commitment to broadcast the final stages of the Tour de France.

[Sportz]

Seven secures England one-dayers
Sportal

The Seven Network will broadcast Australia's one-day series in England in June after reaching an agreement with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). A deal was struck on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after SBS announced it had secured the rights to broadcast the Ashes. Seven's Head of Sport Saul Shtein said it was a great coup for the network. "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with the ECB to bring Australians free-to-air television coverage of our team's one-day campaign in England." Meanwhile, network chief executive David Leckie hailed the deal as a win for Australian cricket fans. "Today's agreement is great news for Australian cricket fans, we also congratulate SBS on their securing of the free-to-air television rights for the Ashes Test series. We look forward to renewing our terrific working relationship with SBS following the success of our partnership for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens." Prior to the last two days, no free-to-air deal had been negotiated, meaning Australian fans were likely to miss out on coverage unless they had pay TV.