someblokecalleddave
Well-Known Member
Some common sense at last TV and Sport
Here in the UK common sense seems to have lost it's way. Today Englands 'Soccer Team' played the Ukraine in some match that was connected to the world cup. Here in the UK we have this weird perception that the world cup is somehow ours, I'm nearly 50 and all my life I have had this sense that 'Normality' will resume soon and the World Cup will be ours once again as it used to be. (It only ever has been once). But despite our obsession with Soccer and the fact that it's our national game and the fact that it permeates virtually every aspect of our culture the match today was only broadcast on the internet and you had to pay for it. Additionally it was rumoured that the website/server that broadcast the match had a maximum capacity of a million viewers. More and more sports here in the UK are becoming the property of those that can afford to view it, pushing aside and denying millions of working class and 'Under-class' kids the chance to see 'their' sport and watch their heroes.
Similarly cricket has been subjected to the same marginalisation. In 2005 when the Ashes came to town 7 million viewers watched the final on terrestial TV. This year a privellaged 2 million viewers watched it and these would have been primarily 'Football types' looking in to see what all the fuss was about.
I reckon that both the governing bodies of both cricket and football in the UK are taking an exceptionally short term view with selling their/our sports to the likes of SKY and any other broadcasting company so that they can then sell it back to those privellaged enough to be able to pay to watch sport on TV/Internet. Someone in one of our national papers this summer also noted the SKY affect saying that not once did he notice any small boys playing cricket on the local field as he had done in 2005 nearly every day. The fact is the small boys - The very future of both cricket and football can no longer access the coverage for free. The fact is especially with football and increasingly with cricket it's working class boys that become the next generation of gifted players.
So today I spotted this.............
The Ashes to return to free-to-air television - Telegraph
At last some common sense.
Here in the UK common sense seems to have lost it's way. Today Englands 'Soccer Team' played the Ukraine in some match that was connected to the world cup. Here in the UK we have this weird perception that the world cup is somehow ours, I'm nearly 50 and all my life I have had this sense that 'Normality' will resume soon and the World Cup will be ours once again as it used to be. (It only ever has been once). But despite our obsession with Soccer and the fact that it's our national game and the fact that it permeates virtually every aspect of our culture the match today was only broadcast on the internet and you had to pay for it. Additionally it was rumoured that the website/server that broadcast the match had a maximum capacity of a million viewers. More and more sports here in the UK are becoming the property of those that can afford to view it, pushing aside and denying millions of working class and 'Under-class' kids the chance to see 'their' sport and watch their heroes.
Similarly cricket has been subjected to the same marginalisation. In 2005 when the Ashes came to town 7 million viewers watched the final on terrestial TV. This year a privellaged 2 million viewers watched it and these would have been primarily 'Football types' looking in to see what all the fuss was about.
I reckon that both the governing bodies of both cricket and football in the UK are taking an exceptionally short term view with selling their/our sports to the likes of SKY and any other broadcasting company so that they can then sell it back to those privellaged enough to be able to pay to watch sport on TV/Internet. Someone in one of our national papers this summer also noted the SKY affect saying that not once did he notice any small boys playing cricket on the local field as he had done in 2005 nearly every day. The fact is the small boys - The very future of both cricket and football can no longer access the coverage for free. The fact is especially with football and increasingly with cricket it's working class boys that become the next generation of gifted players.
So today I spotted this.............
The Ashes to return to free-to-air television - Telegraph
At last some common sense.