From the England and Wales Cricket Board
The ECB and the BBC have announced a new broadcast partnership for county cricket, with live ball-by-ball commentary of every LV=County Championship match available throughout the season, plus all Yorkshire Bank 40 and Friends Life t20 matches.
Starting with the opening of the LV=County Championship (on April 10) the commentaries will broadcast via BBC online streams, which will be hosted on the BBC Sport website and promoted on BBC Local Radio websites, the ECB website and county cricket websites.
To support the new streams, the BBC Sport website has updated the design of all of its county cricket pages, which will provide easy access to the live commentaries as they happen. The county cricket page will link to the scorecards for each game and feature the best interviews and audio highlights gathered from the network of BBC commentators and correspondents around the country. The page will also link to external county cricket sites.
BBC Local Radio has supported county cricket for more than a decade, and this agreement extends that commitment to now include all 18 counties. There will also be increased coverage on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, including commentary of an LV= County Championship match every week. Commentary will come from current BBC Local Radio teams, Radio 5 live sports extra regulars and new talent.
ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: “With a new domestic playing schedule due to start in 2014, we are keen to promote the county game to the widest possible audience and delighted that the BBC will be providing such comprehensive coverage of all our county competitions, and seeking to recruit a new generation of broadcasting talent. This is great news for all followers of county cricket nationwide, and for the 18 First Class Counties who will undoubtedly benefit from wider levels of media exposure.”
For more information please contact
Andrew Walpole,
Head of Corporate Communications, ECB
andrew.walpole@ecb.co.uk – mobile 07785527102
Leanne Williams
Communications Manager, BBC Sport and Radio 5 live
Leanne.williams@bbc.co.uk, – mobile 07714 957095