Conservatives Back Ecb’s Ashes TV Rethink
The England and Wales Cricket Board has been handed a boost to its campaign to block the return of the Ashes to list of events reserved to be broadcast on free-to-air TV after the Conservatives said they would not support the move if they won power.
The shadow sports minister, Hugh Robertson, said it would be a ‘brave if not very foolish’ move at a time when the other areas of revenue for sport are coming under pressure.
Last year, an independent review commissioned by the government suggested that the list of events for live broadcast on free-to-air TV should be expanded to include the Ashes.
The ECB’s chairman Giles Clarke, said that the proposal would be disastrous for cricket and investment at international right down to grassroots levels.
The ECB has also commissioned research to show the adverse economic impact the listing will have on cricket in a bid to convince the culture secretary, Ben Bradshaw, that it will have an effect on the sport.
The proposal to add the Ashes to the free-to-air TV also included the whole of Wimbledon, the rugby union World Cup and international football qualifiers involving the home nations.
