Every summer is critical for Fox Sports. This one even more so. For the first time, viewers have the choice of being able to stream coverage of Test cricket without having to pay extra.
Now 7plus is lining up against Kayo Sports as an option for viewers wanting to stream cricket. Test cricket.
Fox Sports packages the cricket for viewers under the Fox Cricket banner and distributes that content via Foxtel and Kayo Sports subscriptions. Fox Sports managing director Steve Crawley told Mediaweek this is the biggest summer ever for the business. He also reckons they cover cricket better than anyone.
“We’ve been waiting for this summer. We’ve got India, England, then India. Three summers in a row … that’s massive,” said Crawley.
“We’ve been getting this commentary team together for a number of years now and we’re happy with that.”
Some of the Fox Cricket team at the season launch in Melbourne: Alan Border, Ravi Shastri, Harsha Bhogle, Michael Vaughan, Sarah Jones, Brett Lee, Dave Warner and Mark Howard
‘We’ve got our team together’
He explained to Mediaweek that when people watch Test cricket it’s usually a day-long commitment.
“When you go into someone’s house people need to be comfortable with you coming in. We didn’t have a dedicated cricket channel until 2016. We’ve got our team together now and I’m confident we’re ready.”
In terms of a global audience, Crawley said this will be the biggest ever watching Fox Cricket. Broadcasters taking the feed elsewhere decide whether to use the Fox Cricket commentary feed or provide their own.
“India will have their own commentary team they’re trying to pinch some of our commentators. We’re being awkward on that because we want them to be exclusive to us and heard only through us.”
While the commentary team is important, the main game is who’s on the ground.
“You’ve got the number one and two cricket nations in the Test arena and we’ve got four bowlers that have all bowled more than 250 Test wickets,” said Crawley. “Steve Smith’s level with Steve Waugh at number two in batting. They’ve got Kohli and they’ve got Sharma and an incredible team.”
Mark Howard interviews Michael Vaughan, Harsha Bhogle and Ravi Shastri
Fox Cricket’s team this year has plenty of attractions too. “We’ve got Dave Warner in our team, Usman Khawaja is working with us and we’ve got Ravi Shastri and Harsha Bhogle and Shane Watson is back. It just feels right. We’ve done the preparation and now we’re ready for the party.”
Despite all the commentators understanding their roles on match days, Crawley said his team likes to spend time with them at the start of the summer.
“We don’t have to be as a group all the time. We have meetings and we spend time together and we break bread together. We know who works well with who – you don’t necessarily mix everyone up as you’ve got certain people that work better with other people.
“You’ve got to pick the right storytellers to work together.
“Mark Twain, the great American author came out here in 1897 and he went to the MCG and covered a game. In his intro he said he knew cricket was exciting because every 20 minutes someone screams. I remember we had a meeting with Rupert Murdoch once and I mentioned that and he thought it was very funny.
“When that magic moment comes every 20 minutes you’ve got to handle it right. We’ve grown up listening to Richie Benaud and Tony Greig and Bill Lawrie and Ian Chappell. Now we’ve got a new crew of people out the front and Adam Gilchrist is the captain of that crew and they work for Fox Cricket. We’ve got the 2024-25 version of those great commentators and we’ve worked hard to get them together.”
Michael Vaughan at the Fox Cricket launch
Getting the graphics right
A feature of the Fox Cricket coverage this summer is sure to be the graphics. There has been a change behind the scenes with that. Crawley explained.
“We’ve now done what the NRL did. We’ve taken it in-house and I’m really proud of the job that they’re doing and that they’ve done.
“It’s not a case of saving money. We spend the same amount of money but we get more for our buck because they work for us.”
Fox Cricket also handles its own stats. “They’re all our people, the stats people. We’ve always had that and it’s unique in Australian television and we cover all sports.”
See also: Kayo Sports unveils new tech innovations for Its biggest ‘Summer of Cricket’