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FOX Cricket nods to the past as it heralds new era

Richie Benaud's '"lip mike" was handed to Adam Gilchrist & Brett Lee at the official FOX Cricket launch.

  • 4K cricket coverage
  • More than 1000 Live hours ad-break free
  • Australia’s only dedicated cricket channel
  • New FOX Cricket app
  • 13 entertainment shows
  • 31 commentators & presenters

Sporting greats past & present gathered for the official launch of FOX Cricket at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney last night.

Foxtel wrestled Cricket Australia broadcast rights from Nine in April, reportedly at $600m, and last night was keen to unveil its offering.

In attendance were presenters including Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Ian Healy, Darren Lehmann, Steve Smith, Mel Jones, Jess Yates, Gus Worland and current players Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Moises Henriques, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy.

Outgoing Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland and incoming CEO Kevin Roberts joined with Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany, FOX Sports Acting COO Peter Campbell and Director of Television Brian Walsh.

Also in attendance were Matty Johns, and Gogglebox cricket fanatics, the Delpechitra family.

Daphne Benaud, widow of the iconic Richie Benaud, passed on a “Richie’s lip-mike” to Gilchrist & Brett Lee as a symbolic acknowledgement of cricket’s next generation.

“Times do change. 40 years of anything is pretty good,” she said.

“And because times do change it is now time to hand over. You do the job so wonderfully well and it’s very exciting with the season ahead, for everybody.”

Adam Gilchrist hosted the event on a makeshift pitch in front of a Sydney Cricket Ground image, there were video messages from Shane Warne, whilst a string quartet entertaining guests in two ‘SCG grandstands.’

Coverage begins from November 4 as Australia takes on South Africa in the first ODI. Foxtel has all men’s Test Matches, One-Day and T20 Internationals played in Australia plus every game of the Big Bash League. All will be available in 4K on Channel 444.

It also has every women’s international in Australia, the ICC World Twenty20 and 23 WBBL games, the Sheffield Shield Final, the Prime Minister’s XI and the Governor General’s XI. All will be Live in HD and ad break free.

There will be 13 entertainment programs including five pre and post shows.

Foxtel CEO, Patrick Delany, said, “We won’t just broadcast cricket – we will revolutionise it.
“The biggest line up of cricket led by the best commentary team with the most in-depth opinion, analysis and entertainment, all in the one place.

“We also have plenty of innovations and tricks up our sleeve to enhance the experience while the others are taking ad breaks, as well as the way in which we will analyse and deliver the nuggets of insight viewers will only get with FOX Cricket.

“Then there’s 4K. Delivering 20 times better resolution than SD and 4 times better than HD, fans will experience cricket like never before.

“The arrival of FOX Cricket shows exactly what it means to be at the forefront of sports and home entertainment for Australian families.

“At Foxtel, we continue to set the gold standard in sports, movies, TV, lifestyle and more and we will keep surprising you with new additions.

“FOX Cricket, Foxtel in 4K, our new FOX Flicks service and FOX Showcase are just the start as we reinvigorate the Foxtel story for our customers,” he said.

Delany also noted the diversity amongst a

“From day 1 we put together the best team ever assembled in Cricket. We said that it would be diverse and we’ve achieved it. 31 commentators and presenters. 23 new faces to FOX. 1,371 Test appearances between them. 154,000 runs between them all. A staggering 6 national captains and 6 women commentators. Heritage, youth, experience, prestige and most of all, this is a team that will have great fun,” he added.

Over 31 commentators with 23 new faces and six female commentators boasting 1,371 Test appearances between them, 154,472 runs and six national captains will guide viewers through the action.

Headlined by Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne, FOX Cricket’s unrivalled commentary line-up includes Mark Waugh, Isa Guha, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Brett Lee, Allan Border, Mel Jones, Kerry O’Keeffe, Michael Vaughan, Brendon Julian, Steve Smith, Jessica Yates, Mark Howard, Mitchell Johnson, Darren Lehmann, John Hastings, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Neroli Meadows, Sarah Jones, Katherine Loughnan, Alex Blackwell, Tom Morris and Megan Barnard.

International voices Graeme Smith, Harsha Bhogle and Russel Arnold will provide expert opinion on the visiting teams.

Game day coverage will deliver the most respected opinion, analysis and commentary with Come in Spinner, Test Cricket Live on FOX, The Big Break, Tea for Two, FOX Cricket – Test Day and B4 The Bash complementing the live action.

Cricket 360 hosted by Gerard Whateley and Robert ‘Crash’ Craddock will provide the best debate and insight with Cricket AM providing all the breaking and big news stories each morning across summer.

Crash returns to host the award-winning Cricket Legends sitting down with the biggest names in the game with fans able to relive the matches that made legends on Fox Cricket Classics.

Arguably Australia’s biggest cricket tragic, Gus Worland, will give his unique insights on what’s it’s like to be a fan on the all new The Cricket Tragic while James ‘The Professor’ Rochford has been let loose on cricket with his own show The Night Watchman.

And there will be plenty of family fun with Nickelodeon’s Logie nominated kids program, Crash The Bash, joining FOX Cricket’s line-up.

A massive summer of cricket will deliver more than 1000 hours of live coverage to Foxtel viewers.
The Australian men’s team will take on India, South Africa and Sri Lanka across the summer. After finishing their T20 series against New Zealand, the national women’s team’s focus turns to next month’s ICC World Twenty20.

After launching the Big Bash in 2011, summer’s most exciting sporting spectacle returns to FOX Sports in December with Live and ad break coverage of all 59 games.

The WBBL receives unprecedented coverage this season with FOX Cricket broadcasting 23 games Live.
FOX Cricket’s brand new App, launching in time for the Australia v South Africa ODI Series, will bring fans closer to the action. Free to download, the App delivers a personalised experience for fans and features all the latest news, fixtures, scores, stats and video from across the world of cricket.
Plus, Foxtel sports customers can enjoy round-the-clock live streaming of the FOX Cricket channel to watch when they are on the go.

In addition, Foxsports.com.au will be the destination to follow the action online, with all the latest news and results, comprehensive video highlights and plenty of insights from the FOX Cricket commentators with regular podcasts, columns and live Q&As.

FOX Cricket – its cricket like never before.

13 Responses

  1. you wonder if FOX will get much out of this cricket deal ?
    Nine were losing a lot of money on the last deal
    Big Bash will be only content that will be pulling in eyes
    Foxtel have already lifted their monthly subscription fees
    time will tell if 600M was wisely spent

  2. They really do spin a load of dross “We won’t just broadcast cricket – we will revolutionise it.”

    There is a camera behind each bowler, they show the delivery and then replay it while the bowler walks back to his mark – revolutionary!

    1. They are throwing a lot of $$ at this because Cricket is the dominant sport over summer. FOX Sports has been progressive with the tech advancements in other sports so we’ll need to see how this pans out. 4K is a good start for fans who can afford it.

  3. 4K,5K or even 8K if Australia is being thumped I won’t be watching. Look what’s happening in Dubai . Steve Smith’s place is on the cricket pitch not in the commentary box. Whatever happened to forgive and forget ?

  4. Another full-of-hype launch. The game is in disarray – the audience will judge the game by the calibre of its participants – at the moment, frightfully compromised. The Fox coverage will look like any other. The coverage of this sport will not determine whether it will fail or succeed. The hearts and minds of the audience, after recent appalling events, will not be won easily.

  5. How did Foxtel get around the anti-syphoning rules to have a pay-tv monopoly on the one day internationals in australia? No one has ever explained that.

    1. FTA isn’t forced to buy or broadcast anything on the list. They just have first right of refusal. If they don’t want it, Subscription TV or anyone can pick it up.

      1. Seven did buy the ODI rights but then immediately sold them onto Foxtel. Technically the anti-siphoning list only restricts sale of the rights, not the actual broadcast of those events.

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