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Timeline of cricket on UK television facts for kids

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This article tells the story of how cricket has been shown on television in the United Kingdom. It's a journey through the decades, from the very first broadcasts to today's live matches.

Early Days of Cricket on UK TV (1930s-1970s)

First Cricket Broadcasts (1938-1956)

  • 1938
  • 1956
    • On April 28, ITV (a new TV channel back then) showed cricket for the first time. They broadcast a match featuring the Australian touring team at Arundel Castle.

Growing Coverage and New Competitions (1963-1969)

  • 1963
    • On July 20, the BBC's Grandstand showed live coverage of a women's Test match between England and Australia at The Oval. This was the earliest known live TV broadcast of women's Test cricket!
    • On September 7, the BBC also showed the final of the first Gillette Cup.
  • 1965
    • On May 2, a new show called Sunday Cricket started on BBC2. It showed full coverage of a "knock-out" cricket match every Sunday afternoon.
  • 1968
    • On July 29 and 30, ITV showed Test cricket for the only time. It was the last two days of a match against Australia.
    • On September 7, London Weekend Television (a new ITV company) won the rights to show the Gillette Cup final.
  • 1969
    • On April 27, Sunday Cricket began showing a match each week from the new Sunday League.

World Cups and New Cups (1972-1979)

  • 1972
    • A new one-day competition, the Benson & Hedges Cup, began. The BBC showed live coverage of one match from each round.
  • 1975
    • From June 7 to 21, the BBC showed lots of live coverage of the first ever Cricket World Cup. They also showed the 1979 World Cup in full.

Cricket on TV in the 1980s

Sunday Cricket and Overseas Matches (1981-1986)

  • 1981
    • On May 17, Sunday Grandstand started. It included weekly coverage of the Sunday League.
  • 1983
    • On January 6, the BBC showed a cricket Test match from Sydney, Australia. This was the first time cricket from another country was shown live in England!
    • From June 9 to 25, the BBC showed lots of live coverage of the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
  • 1986
    • From November 1986 to January 1987, the BBC showed some live coverage of the England team's tour to Australia. Most of it was highlights, but they did show some live parts of the Ashes matches.

Women's Cricket and World Cup Coverage (1987-1988)

  • 1987
    • On July 16, Channel 4 showed the first full day of women's cricket coverage in the UK. England played Australia at Lord's.
    • From October 9 to November 8, the BBC covered the 1987 Cricket World Cup. Because of the time difference (it was in India and Pakistan), live coverage was mostly just the final parts of England's matches. The final match was shown live and in full.
  • 1988
    • From February to March, ITV showed highlights of England’s tour to New Zealand. This was the first time ITV had shown the England team in 20 years!

Cricket on TV in the 1990s

Sky Sports Enters the Game (1990-1995)

  • 1990
    • From January to March, Sky showed live coverage of England's cricket tour to the West Indies. This was the first time an overseas tour was shown live in the UK!
  • 1992
    • From February 22 to March 25, Sky showed its first big cricket tournament: the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Sky has shown the World Cup ever since, making it their longest-held sports right! The BBC only showed highlights of the final because England was in it.
  • 1993
    • On August 1, the BBC decided at the last minute to show live coverage of the Women's World Cup final on Grandstand. About 2.5 million people watched it!
  • 1994
    • The BBC showed England's home one-day international matches live for the last time.
  • 1995
    • Sky Sports took over the live rights for England's home one-day internationals. The BBC still showed highlights.
    • On May 15, the BBC launched a monthly cricket show called Gower's Cricket Monthly.
    • On September 3, cricket was shown live on a regional ITV channel for the last time.

Exclusive Rights and Channel Changes (1996-1999)

  • 1996
    • From February 14 to March 17, Sky Sports was the only channel showing the Cricket World Cup live. The BBC showed highlights.
    • In June, Sky Sports showed women's cricket for the first time.
  • 1998
    • On September 22, the last episode of Gower's Cricket Monthly was broadcast. A month later, it was announced that the BBC had lost the rights to show English cricket to Channel 4.
  • 1999
    • On June 20, the BBC showed live cricket for the last time in over 20 years. It was the 1999 Cricket World Cup Final. This ended half a century of continuous cricket coverage on the BBC.
    • On July 1, Channel 4 started showing cricket after getting the rights from the BBC.
    • Sky Sports showed a home Test Match live for the first time. They shared a deal with Channel 4 until 2005.

Cricket on TV in the 2000s

Sky Sports Takes Over (2005-2006)

  • 2005
    • In September, live cricket was shown on free-to-air TV for the last time for a while. After this, all live coverage moved to Sky Sports. This also marked the end of Channel 4's cricket coverage until 2019.
  • 2006
    • In May, Sky Sports became the only channel to show all live cricket matches in the UK. This happened after the ECB gave Sky exclusive rights to all of England's home Test matches, one-day internationals, and Twenty20 Internationals.
    • Channel 5 became the new home for highlights of England's home matches.
    • The first episode of Cricket AM was shown on Sky Sports. It was a cricket version of their popular football show Soccer AM.

Highlights and New Channels (2007-2008)

  • 2007
    • From March 13 to April 28, the BBC showed highlights of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. This was the first time cricket had been on BBC Television since 1999. Sky Sports had the live rights. The BBC also showed highlights of the 2011 World Cup.
  • 2008

Cricket on TV in the 2010s

IPL and New Tournaments (2010-2012)

  • 2010
    • In February, ITV started showing live cricket across the UK again, broadcasting the Indian Premier League. ITV then signed a four-year deal for the event. ITV also expanded its cricket coverage by showing highlights of the 2010/11 Ashes series.
    • From July 22 to 31, ESPN showed the first Caribbean Twenty20 tournament.
  • 2012
    • From August 11 to 31, ESPN showed live coverage of the first Sri Lanka Premier League.

Sky Sports Channels and BT Sport (2013-2016)

  • 2013
    • On June 30, Sky Sports launched a special temporary channel called Sky Sports Ashes. It was created to show full coverage of the 2013 Ashes Series. This idea of temporary channels for big events became common for Sky. Sky Sports Ashes returned for the 2015 Ashes series and the 2019 Ashes series.
    • In August, Cricket AM was broadcast for the final time.
  • 2014
  • 2015
    • In February, Sky Sports took over as the broadcaster of the Indian Premier League from ITV.
    • From February 14 to March 29, ITV showed highlights of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Sky Sports showed the live coverage and even renamed Sky Sports 2 to Sky Sports World Cup for the tournament.
  • 2016
    • In July, the UKTV channel Dave showed the Caribbean Premier League. They broadcast five matches live.
    • On August 24, BT Sport took over from Sky Sports as the broadcaster of Australia's home matches for five years. This meant BT would show The Ashes series in 2017–18, along with the Big Bash League and the Women's Big Bash League.

Dedicated Cricket Channel and Women's Cricket (2017-2019)

  • 2017
    • On July 18, Sky Sports changed its channels. One of the new channels was completely dedicated to cricket and was called Sky Sports Cricket.
    • From August 10 to September 1, Sky Sports broadcast eight matches live from the 2017 Women's Cricket Super League. This was Sky's first big step into showing women's cricket. They showed even more matches in 2018.
  • 2018
    • From March to May, BT Sport broadcast the 2018 Indian Premier League. This was a one-off, as the event moved back to Sky Sports the next year.
    • On August 8, Sky Sports took over from BT Sport as the broadcaster of the Caribbean Premier League.
  • 2019
    • From May 31 to July 14, Sky Sports Cricket was renamed Sky Sports Cricket World Cup to show live and recorded coverage of the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.
    • On July 14, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final. This was the first time live cricket had been shown on a free-to-air channel since 2005! Sky Sports had the live rights but agreed to let Channel 4 show the final if England made it.
    • On September 15, after 14 seasons, Channel 5 showed cricket highlights for the last time.

Cricket on TV in the 2020s

BBC Returns and New Channels (2020-2021)

  • 2020
    • In July, regular coverage of cricket returned to the BBC. They took over from Channel 5 as the broadcaster of highlights for English cricket.
    • On August 20, the BBC showed live cricket for the first time in over 21 years!
    • On September 26, the BBC showed live coverage of a women's international match for the first time since the 1993 World Cup final.
  • 2021
    • On February 5, live coverage of a Test match was shown on free-to-air TV for the first time in over 15 years! Channel 4 started showing England’s Test series against India. However, the one-day and T20 international matches were still on Sky Sports.
    • Also on February 5, BT Sport secured the rights to all international and domestic cricket played in the West Indies and New Zealand for the next two years. This included England's tour to the West Indies in 2022. Sky Sports used to have these rights.
    • On March 2, FreeSports showed Test cricket for the first time. They started showing all Test, ODI, and T20 matches involving Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
    • From July 21 to August 23, the first season of The Hundred took place. Games were shown live on Sky Sports (which renamed Sky Sports Cricket to Sky Sports The Hundred) and on the BBC.

World Cup Final and New Leagues (2022-2023)

  • 2022
    • On November 13, Channel 4 showed live coverage of the final of the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where England played Pakistan. Sky Sports had shown the rest of the tournament.
  • 2023
    • On January 10, Sky Sports began showing South Africa’s new T20 cricket league.
    • From March 29 to May 28, DAZN and Sky Sports shared coverage of the 2023 Indian Premier League.
    • On July 1, a Women's Ashes game was broadcast live on free-to-air television for the first time since 1963! BBC Two showed a T20 international match between England and Australia.
    • From August 30 to September 16, TNT Sports showed the Asia Cup. This was the first time this event had been broadcast in the UK.

See also

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