The Ashes end on a high for Seven, Foxtel, and cricket podcasters alike
The Seven cricket team prepare for the Pink Test in Sydney. Left to right: Stuart Broad, Simon Katich, Alison Mitchell, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Trent Copeland, Mel McLaughlin, Bharat Sundaresan, and Greg Blewett
The Sydney Ashes Test has wrapped, giving broadcasters and their commercial partners just the second five-day Test of the series.
With hopes of an Australian victory high as day five started, it was a great result for cricket broadcast rights holders Seven and the Foxtel Group. It was also a welcome outcome for audio rights holders SCA, SEN and the ABC.
It wasn’t all good news for the media though. Podcasters who now also film their episodes were told they could no longer film within the stadium. After complaints from the TV broadcasters, podcasters were initially shuffled across the road from the SCG to what was labelled as ‘podcast row’ at Moore Park, near the shores of Kippax Lake and the edge of Tramway Oval.
Cricket Australia’s ABC ban lasted just one day
A brief Fifth Test stand-off between the body that runs Australia’s biggest summer sport and its traditional broadcaster fizzled out after Cricket Australia and the ABC resumed the relationship that benefits both parties.
The irony of his comment “Once we would have gone out on strike if we were asked to write an advertorial in a newspaper,” is not lost. Media organisations require advertising to survive. The fact that they’re now out on their own venture and are more than happy to ‘lower’ themselves to such tasks proves it never had anything to do with integrity. A coddled class by and large.