Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

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someblokecalleddave

someblokecalleddave

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Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

I've got to say I'm not a big fan of Mr Murdoch and his media empire. I hate the fact that with all his millions of dollars he's able to buy the TV rights to anything he desires and thus marginalises millions of people from what in my opinion should be available to all of us - cricket included. I don't like him or his politics or his brand. Currently with England playing Sri Lanka my only possibility of seeing any play and learning anything from viewing the game is limited to about 30 seconds each day on BBC TV which is an appalling state of affairs.

But with the prospects of Australia and England test in the near future and the fact that I'm not going to see any of it, it looks like I'm going to have to sell out on my own politics and class and cave in to this man and his organisation and get myself SKY TV so I can watch my own national team play the Aussies.

So what's the deal - what am I going to get for my money? How much coverage is there normally of test matches and how often will have adverts rammed down my throat and does it interfere with the viewing? Do they have highlight programs or is it fed live? Is the cricket on SKY sports one or is it extra to the basic package?
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

I've got to agree, i don't like sky having all the rights, for one, at one time Cricket cost as much as your TV license.

I've heard a bit of news about ESPN buying out the licenses for the English Premier League, and they already own all the licenses for Cricket.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Hopefully gives an idea of the coverage aswell, i must say i find sky sports very good and there are adverts every 30 mins or so which is very good compared to other channels.

You pay for it but it shows in the coverage the commentators are good quality and despite not happy paying for it, it kind of leaves you feeling a bit happy that you are paying for it as its a top notch service.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

I cancelled my sky after the Ashes in Australia, due to the expense, i dunno how much it is now, but for the full sports package it was getting to nearly £60, i'm not willing to pay that.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Yeah - see that's interesting. They advertise a start up for £19 with phone/internet etc. Then you read through what you're getting and the impression is that for £36 or something similar you then get Sky sports one or something and I got the sense that it would include the test matches. What you're now saying is that the cricket coverage is additional to sky sports one? :mad:
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

No, i mean all of the sky sports channels, and the rest of the channels cost £60. So the sky channels will include football, cricket,rugby etc...

And that 60 quid didnt include the movies package, so for a full package i suspect it'll be getting to around 100 pound per month, which is a rediculous amount seeing the amount of TV per day is 20 minutes of sports news and an hour of top gear now and again.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

I think it is over the 4 sky sports channels. It is usually on Sky Sports 1.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

someblokecalleddave said:
Is all the live cricket on one channel as such? If so which channel?
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As Simbazz said, it is all over four channels but English cricket is usually not on Extra.

The quality of coverage has not quite got the edge on Channel 4 but is still very good. The innovations like Snickometer, Hi-Motion and Hawkeye are utilised very well and the commentary is top notch in international fixtures. The standard of analysis (during a match*, after an innings, day or after a highlights show) is always very good too with good, short highlights packages and Bob Willis providing his facinatingly far wing but always valid views on cricket with Charles Coville usually biting his lip to stop laughing on just how frank Bob can be.

*This is done by one commentator throughout a day in a segment called 3rd man which appears usually once or twice per session with a piece of analysis based on the recent play.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

I have Sky, though wouldn't rave about the coverage - it's decent enough I suppose, and there is plenty of cricket that can tickle your fancy over the summer!!

With regards the point about Bob Willis, he has quite possibly got the most boring voice on the box.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Manee do you mean Charles Colville?Mark Nicholas is limited to the highlights on five and Britain's best dish in England!Have to say i used to enjoy the channel four coverage but seen as though Sky took it i purchased the Sky package with Sky sports cost 36 per month which isn't bad at all.You get all your cricket fix,rugby,football,golf etc.And if you think the bill is too much just ring up and tell them you don't want it.They pass you on to the last resort offices and they offer you discounts etc.I did it and got Sky half price for 6 months which isn't bad.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Mate, I know a website where you can get hourly highlights.

If you're interested, then PM me. They aren't always there, but sometimes they are.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Dikon said:
Manee do you mean Charles Colville?Mark Nicholas is limited to the highlights on five
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Yes, I do, my mistake, sorry about that.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

If you want to annoy Sky and watch cricket get Virgin. They hate each other but you can get the full sky sports package for about £25 on top of your basic deal.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Now I'm really confused - I thought sky had the exclusive rights to the cricket? I'm feeling like a really old bloke now! Can we just have it back on the BBC or Channel 4 or something - who do I have to write to!!!!????? :confused:

No - I'm kidding about writing letters but it's just so frustrating and confusing!
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

someblokecalleddave said:
Now I'm really confused - I thought sky had the exclusive rights to the cricket? I'm feeling like a really old bloke now! Can we just have it back on the BBC or Channel 4 or something - who do I have to write to!!!!????? :confused:

No - I'm kidding about writing letters but it's just so frustrating and confusing!
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There's a petition somewhere online someone might provide you with the link.
 
Re: Is SKY TV's coverage all that it's cracked up to be?

Basically, Sky have the rights to show England games (as well as most of the big series involving other test nations).

To be able to view you either need sky or a cable service that is able to provide sky. You may also be able to use a top-up service on freeview but I'm not 100% certain on that one.

If you're able to then I'd recommend getting a package from Virgin. Providing your in a cabled area you should be able to pick up a 3 for £30 package, giving you a decent broadband connection, phone line and cable t.v service.

Once you have this you'll be able to ring up and add or remove packages as you like. When I lived in a cable area, I'd often put on the Sky Sports package so I could watch the cricket then have it turned off when the series I was interested in finished.

It's worth having a look into, especially seeing as you're presumably close(ish) to London so you may well have more options.
 
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