Fox Cricket is an Australian subscription television channel dedicated to screening cricket (both domestic and international) matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited and is available throughout Australia on Foxtel. The channel was launched on 17 September 2018.[1]

Fox Cricket
CountryAustralia
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Ownership
OwnerFox Sports Pty Limited
Sister channelsFox Sports News
Fox League
Fox Footy
Fox Netball
Fox Sports
History
Launched17 September 2018
ReplacedFox Sports 501
Links
Websitefoxsports.com.au
Availability
Streaming media
Foxtel GoChannel 501
Kayo SportsChannel 501

History

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Since its launch in 1995 as Premier Sports Network, Fox Sports has been broadcaster to most of Australian international tours despite lacking domestic Australian international rights which has been a mainstay at the Nine Network since 1979. The first major cricket event that was broadcast on PSN was Australia's tour of the West Indies in 1995 which was also the first on pay television in Australia. Nine who up to 1995 had broadcast on free-to-air had tried to keep off PTV [2] under Australia's anti-siphoning rules, which rules that certain events cannot be screened exclusively on pay television. Ultimately a deal was signed with Network Ten to the broadcast series on FTA while also being on PTV with PSN. From 2005/06 to 2012/13 Fox Sports had exclusive rights to domestic cricket in Australia including most or all of the then Ford Ranger One-Day cup and KFC Big Bash T20 matches including the first 2 seasons of the Big Bash League along with the final of the Sheffield Shield, Fox also had highlights of international men's Test, ODI and T20 matches in Australia. In 2013, Fox Sports lost the rights of the BBL to Network Ten and the Ryobi One-Day Cup to the Nine Network for the next 5 years with international cricket in Australia remaining on Nine. Most overseas cricket broadcast stayed on Fox except for Ashes tours of England which Nine had exclusive rights to while the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup which was held in Australia was broadcast on Fox Sports along with Nine.

In April 2018, Fox Sports came to a six-year agreement with Cricket Australia that expanded their previous coverage of cricket on the Foxtel platform. This deal formed a part of Cricket Australia's six year overall coverage deal which also includes free to air coverage by Channel Seven.[3]

In early May, Foxtel announced the upcoming creation of a dedicated channel, Fox Cricket, featuring the entire Australian Summer of international cricket from 2018 and 2019 including tests, one day matches and T20 matches as well as the Big Bash Leagues and World Cups.[4] The channel debuted on 17 September 2018, with the 2018 Caribbean Premier League final being the first live match broadcast.

Programming

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Event coverage

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Sports programming on Fox Cricket includes the following:[5]

Australian national cricket team
Australian domestic leagues
  • Sheffield Shield selected matches including final
  • Marsh One-Day Cup, selected matches including finals
  • BBL every game including finals (shared with Seven Network)
  • WBBL every game including finals (shared with Seven Network)
Home series of other national teams
Other tournaments

Special events

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News and analysis programming

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Fox Cricket will air several studio shows including the programs listed below:[6]

  • B4 The Bash! (2018–present)
  • Come In Spinner (2018–2020)
  • Crash The Bash (2016–2020)
  • Cricket 360 (2018–2019)
  • Cricket A.M. (2018–present)
  • Cricket Legends (2015–present, no new episodes)
  • Fox Cricket Classics (2018–present, highlights from yesteryear)
  • Tea For Two (2018–2020)
  • Test Cricket Live On Fox (2018–2020)
  • Test Day (2018–2020)
  • The Big Break (2018–present)
  • The Blast (2019–present)
  • The Cricket Tragic (2018–2018)
  • The Night Watchmen (2018–2020)

Personnel

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Media outlets announced a number of key hosting and commentary personnel in the lead up to the 2018–19 cricket season.[7][8][9][10][11]

Network personalities and the media attended the launch for Fox Cricket on 9 October 2018. Further key hosting personnel were announced, in addition to new programming for the forthcoming summer.[6]

Commentators

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Men's internationals

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Current

Past

Women's internationals

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Current

Past

Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament

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Present

Past

Big Bash League

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Present

  • Callum Ferguson (Expert Analyst, 2019–present), Big Bash
  • John Hastings (Expert Analyst, 2018–present) Marsh Cup
  • Alyssa Healy (Expert Analyst, 2018–present) Marsh Cup
  • Darren Lehmann (Expert Analyst, 2018–present)
  • Chris Lynn (Expert Analyst, 2019–present)
  • Corbin Middlemas (Caller, 2019–present)
  • Adam Peacock (Caller, 2019–present)
  • Rob Quiney (Expert Analyst, 2018–present)

Women's Big Bash League

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Current

  • Megan Barnard (Host/Sideline Reporter) 2018/19–
  • Mel Jones (Host/Caller/Expert Commentator/Analysis) 2018/19–
  • Brenton Speed (Caller) 2021/22–
  • Ben Homer (Caller) 2021/22–
  • Alex Blackwell (Expert Commentator) 2018/19–
  • Erin Burns (Expert Commentator/Analysis) 2020/21–
  • Morne Morkel (Expert Commentator) 2021/22–
  • Mel Farrell (Expert Commentator) 2021/22–
  • Adam Peacock (Caller) 2021/22–

Past

World cups

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2018 Women's T20 World Cup

2019 Cricket World Cup

2020 Women's T20 World Cup

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bayley, Cameron (16 August 2018). "Beginner's Tour: Cricket Events You Don't Want to Miss". Foxtel Insider. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  2. ^ Bertolus, Phil (2 February 1995). "At home with Pay TV". The Age Green Guide. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. p. 1. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  3. ^ Smith, Martin (13 April 2018). "What cricket's rights deal means for fans". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Foxtel and Fox Sports to become the home of cricket". Foxtel Insider. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ^ Smith, Martin (13 April 2018). "CA announces new broadcast deal". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Cricket Like Never Before Arrives On Foxtel". Fox Sports. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  7. ^ "All commentators signed by Seven, Fox Sports so far". Cricket Australia. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Brett Lee And Kerry O'Keeffe Join Fox Sports' Cricket Revolution". Fox Sports. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Andrew Symonds and Mark Howard join Fox Cricket's new line up". Fox Sports. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Fox Cricket takes shape". Fox Sports. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Fox Cricket Signs Mitchell Johnson". Fox Sports. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b "What's the Buzz: Saint, Sinner, Shoosh". Daily Telegraph. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
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