First, England. Next, the world? Why those behind The Hundred have big ambitions March 21, 2022 “Every successful brand in the world has to start somewhere, in one geography,” says Nick Sykes, global chief executive of FutureBrand, the company that developed the branding for The Hundred, English cricket’s newest tournament. “But if you look at sporting formats around the world, many of them have travelled geographies and there are large parts [...]
Why sport is taking over terrestrial TV airwaves again February 21, 2022 If you’ve turned on your subscription-free, Nadine Dorries-unfriendly, terrestrial TV recently you may have been transported back to a time when moustachioed behemoths like Dickie Davies and Des Lynam ruled the afternoon airwaves – for we again live in an era of live, free-to-air sport. Of course, you may not have noticed. Sky and BT [...]
The Hundred: Tournament to start in August with Brave vs Fire clash January 27, 2022 Domestic cricket’s newest sensation The Hundred will return at the start of August with men’s defending champions Southern Brave taking on Welsh Fire. The tournament will run from 3 August through to to a showpiece finals weekend on 2-3 September. Last year saw the competition play out its inaugural, controversial, season with Brave winning the [...]
The strange case of The Hundred: a North-South divide? January 1, 2022 Recently this country has been roughly split down the middle on, well, virtually everything. Opinions are polarised and if there’s a fence in the middle, we’re damn well not sitting on it. Summer 2021 saw a new concept dividing the nation. Sports fans, I give you the strange case of The Hundred. Unlike most cricket [...]
Big Sport Quiz of 2021: How much do you remember? December 20, 2021 From teenagers sweeping to Grand Slam tennis titles to England reaching a major football final, an Olympic Games like no other and the introduction of a brand new cricket competition, it has been a hugely eventful year in sport. Off the field it has been just as transformative, with private equity and, increasingly, cryptocurrency and [...]
Ed Warner: What I would do if I were in charge of English cricket October 14, 2021 This week, Ed Warner writes an open letter to the ECB, which runs English cricket, as it begins its search for a new chair of the governing body. Dear ECB, I see you’ve parted company with your chair, Ian Watmore, after only a year in the job. I’d like to toss my hat in the [...]
World 12s: Plans unveiled for rugby union’s £250m answer to the Indian Premier League, featuring eight franchises playing 12-a-side, 30-minute matches September 7, 2021 Some of rugby union’s biggest names have announced plans to launch a new 12-a-side tournament, World 12s, in England next year. The competition would feature eight franchise teams playing in 30-minute matches over three consecutive weekends in August and September. World 12s chairman Ian Ritchie, the former head of the Rugby Football Union and Premiership [...]
Opening match of The Hundred sets UK TV record for women’s cricket July 22, 2021 The opening match of The Hundred, English cricket’s new competition, attracted a record UK television audience for a women’s match. A peak audience of 1.95m watched as the Oval Invincibles beat the Manchester Originals in a closely-fought curtain-raiser to the tournament. The figures marked an encouraging start for a competition that has divided opinion since [...]
Exclusive: English cricket chiefs rethink plans to relax Covid rules during The Hundred after one-day squad debacle highlights surge in risk July 7, 2021 English cricket chiefs have shelved plans to relax Covid-19 protocols around The Hundred, its new domestic competition, amid rising cases. The challenges facing sport were highlighted this week when England’s entire one-day squad was forced into isolation following an outbreak on the eve of their series with Pakistan. That came after the strict Covid rules [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Bitcoin plunge hits chess grandmasters; ‘Stamford Beach’ stunt recalls Chelsea row; and Hundred teams get new spinners May 20, 2021 When is a $100,000 bonus not worth $100,000? That is a conundrum for the chess grandmasters taking part in the FTX Crypto Cup. The tournament, which features world champion Magnus Carlsen and starts this weekend, is offering a $320,000 prize to the winner – a record for an online chess event. But $100,000 of that [...]