YouTube has signed an agreement with the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and BSkyB launched its first ever second screen cricket experience ahead of the Investec Ashes series between England and Australia.
In the case of YouTube, the agreement will see the official ECB channel – www.youtube.com/ecbcricket – host the live streaming, as well as one-minute highlights of every session, with coverage getting under way on Day 1 of the first test match, starting this Wednesday (July 11) at Trent Bridge, Nottingham at 11.00 BST.
Coverage will be available in 53 countries across mainland Europe and Latin America. Sky’s new Ashes Event Centre will meanwhile allow Sky Sports viewers to watch live ball-by-ball coverage at home or on the move and relive all the key moments via the session’s timeline, accompanied by the same match statistics used in the commentary box.
It will also feature an integrated Hawk-Eye app giving fans the ability to review every ball virtually via a host of Hawk-Eye analysis tools, as used on screen in Sky Sport’s live coverage.
ECB’s digital services will offer a total over 1.5 million views of free-to-view content this year alone, amounting to over 2m minutes of footage. The YouTube channel offers highlights of every Investec Test, NatWest ODI & T20, LV County Championship and Yorkshire Bank 40 matches, as well as behind-the-scenes features and player interviews.
Commenting on the agreement, David Collier, chief executive of ECB, said: “This is the ECB’s first venture into live streaming of cricket online, so is ground-breaking territory for us.
“We receive numerous requests from cricket fans in regions where there is no broadcast TV offering, and therefore we are delighted that many will be able to enjoy this Investec Ashes Series.
“It is also important that we play a role in the expansion of the game to countries that do not traditionally play nor watch the sport.”
Steve Nuttall, senior director YouTube, said: “Our partnership with the ECB expands the reach of the Investec Ashes Series to new countries and to YouTube’s younger, connected audience. We’re delighted to see more top quality cricket on YouTube.”
Commenting on Sky Sport’s second screen cricket experience, David Gibbs, director of Sky Sports Digital Media, said: “The Ashes series is a key part of our biggest ever summer of live sport and we are giving Sky Sports customers the ultimate Ashes experience. The Ashes Event Centre is the UK’s most advanced second screen cricket app and allows Sky Sports subscribers to keep up with the defining moments of each and every Test Match. It’s the first time we’ve offered a dedicated second screen experience for our cricket coverage and it’s another example of our investment in the Sky Sports viewer’s experience.”