As a nerd myself, I do watch some of these tournaments haha

Ahead of his time.

More money than some golf  and tennis tournaments.  Man City I think have an esports team.  (As do others.)  
yep.  http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4018844/manchester-city-signs-first-esports-player/

The nerds are coming.

https://www.esportsearnings.com/tournaments
https://www.esportsearnings.com/games
http://www.xygaming.com/content/top-5-largest-esports-prize-pools-of-2016/

Crazy. Does anyone remember this movie?


I'm gonna have to find it and watch it now

Pretty much it - big money in it these days.

What's an esport?
As in is it literally a team of people who play call of duty or fifa against each other and winners are ranked in a league/knockout type system?

Genuine question

You'd be lucky if there was one whole division in Australia.

Buying an esports team that has a license to play in a certain league makes sense. The same resin why people buy football clubs rather than starting in division 10 you can start higher up the system .

IT knowledge

Tacit knowledge

I would have thought barriers to entry would be low in establishing an e-sports team, so what's the point of buying one?

More clean air coming https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/07/afl-just-gave-itself-a-greenlight-to-run-an-esports-league/

The Ashes is the only thing saving test cricket in this country 

I can't stand it either. I don't have an issue with the 20/20 format, just the way its packaged. It's going to basically kill off test cricket which is a crying shame. 

as someone who hates 20/20 I am wrapped they will be extending their season by a month. people will get bored of it quicker and see the game for what it really is... a pile of steaming hot shit. 

What experts believe will help Cricket Australia to win more for the Big Bash is its plan to nearly double the number of games in the competition, from 35 in the latest T20 season to a supersized 59-game season in 2018-19.

A much longer season would run from mid-December all the way until the end of February. Cricket Australia is looking to mark its territory with the Big Bash during February, traditionally regarded as a “dead zone” between the end of the cricket season and the start of the football season.

Clean air..............................

Winner of Official 442 Comment of the day Award -  10th April 2017

Australian cricket dispute: Media rights deal talks to be delayed


The Big Bash is the big TV rights growth area for Cricket Australia.
Cricket Australia is almost certain to delay the negotiation of its next five-year media rights deal until next year, as sports rights experts predict the deal will net the organisation $200 million less than it initially hoped for.

Insiders have told The Australian that Cricket Australia will defer the final discussions on the rights deal for months.

The explosive player pay dispute, the appointment of receivers to the Ten Network and media law reform gridlock could all affect the ability of cricket’s governing body to maximise the value of its rights. As one senior cricket source put it late last week: “The deal doesn’t have to happen until early next year.”

Originally, it was planned to seal the rights contracts for both international and Big Bash League T20 cricket before the home Ashes series commences in November. Preliminary talks were held with the Seven, Nine and Ten networks and pay-TV.

But there is now a fear at the cricketing body that a quick deal could impact revenue potential.

Cricket Australia reaps $600 million, or $120m a year, from its current five-year deal — about $500m, or $100m a year, for its international rights, with the rest coming from Ten’s Big Bash coverage.

Media companies preparing to bid are worried that if no settlement is reached with the players (who became technically unemployed on the weekend), they will have no product to broadcast.

While the dispute is bothering media networks now, rights specialists say they would be shocked if a compromise was not sorted out before the start of the 2017-18 summer. It is simply not in the interests of either the highly paid players, or administrators, to disrupt the coming blockbuster Ashes season, because it is expected to be an unprecedented financial goldmine with record crowds.

Another issue is the Ten Network. Major secured creditor the Commonwealth Bank appointed PPB Advisory as its receiver over the weekend. Voluntary administrator KordaMentha will manage the network while insolvency specialist PPB maximises sale proceeds.

The media law reform gridlock could affect a sale of the network. Administrator Mark Korda of KordaMentha last week said he would ask the Federal Court to delay Ten’s next creditors’ meeting until after federal parliament resumes on August 8, in the hope media reform laws would pass.

Cricket Australia originally hoped the next rights deal would net it as much as $900m over five years: about $120m a year from the international test and one-day rights for the Australian summer, and about $60m a year for the Big Bash. The governing body was optimistic that competitive tension between the three commercial networks and pay-TV would help drive a deal for this sort of money to be completed before the start of the upcoming Ashes beginning at the Gabba in late November.


But with Ten’s problems, sports rights experts now believe a total of about $700m over five years, or $140m a year, is more realistic: about $80m-$90m a year for international cricket rights, and $50m-$60m a year for the Big Bash. The Big Bash is the big TV rights growth area for Cricket Australia. The five-year deal with Ten that expires at the end of the 2017-18 season was only worth $100m. But it is understood this was one piece of programming where the beleaguered network made significantly more money than it invested.

The extent of its ratings success surprised executives. Big Bash had broad appeal to an advertiser-friendly younger demographic, as well as families.

What experts believe will help Cricket Australia to win more for the Big Bash is its plan to nearly double the number of games in the competition, from 35 in the latest T20 season to a supersized 59-game season in 2018-19.

A much longer season would run from mid-December all the way until the end of February. Cricket Australia is looking to mark its territory with the Big Bash during February, traditionally regarded as a “dead zone” between the end of the cricket season and the start of the football season. But much of what it fetches for the Big Bash hinges on the time it takes Ten to emerge from its administration. Cricket Australia is a creditor of Ten and has already met KordaMentha.

Cricket Australia considers it important to include Ten as a bidder, allowing the value of the rights to be maximised.

One possibility is that whoever ultimately takes over Ten could join forces with pay-TV to bid for the enlarged Big Bash. This could see an arrangement along the lines of NRL and AFL rights deals whereby Foxtel shows all regular season games; some exclusively, and others as a simulcast with free-to-air.

Meanwhile, Nine has made no secret of its desire to get its hands on the Big Bash, along with its existing international cricket summer schedule of Tests, one-dayers and two T20 internationals.

Seven, too, would also love the Big Bash, but faces the obstacle of its rights to the Australian Open for two weeks in January — a time when the Big Bash broadcasts nightly. The Australian understands Tennis Australia has a clause in its five-year contract with Seven (which runs until 2019) that mandates that its evening sessions run on the network’s main free-to-air channel. Cricket officials would be unlikely to allow the Big Bash to run on Seven’s secondary channels for the two weeks ofduring the Australian Open. However, insiders say it would be premature to rule out Seven from the bidding for Big Bash.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/australian-cricket-dispute-media-rights-deal-talks-to-be-delayed/news-story/222b1e91ab3b3d0f0b18bafe4855c0f0

This is sour grapes lol. Lets face it theyre killing it

Won't be too long until fans start to get bored with 20 overs.  I read the other day that theFTA ratings agency cen tell a lot of the numbers for BBL are just tuning in for the final couple of overs. Yep, that's a real passionate longterm fanbase there. Stand by for calls for Ten10 'cricket' to be created :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Absolutely.

No, a few have turned their back on the game, but many tens of thousands more have been drawn to it that never were.

The Euro snobs want quality, that is all.  Its the number 1 issue they have with the game.  Most would not care one iota about ex-NSL clubs.

People are seriously comparing a 6 week tournament on FTA with the HAL? Stupid! HAL needs money to bring in stars and it will piss on any comp. 35,000 came to watch Sydney v Newcastle when ADP and Hesky were There derbies alone bring in 40,000 plus. 12,000 will even watch the Mariners. The HAL is the backbone of a good structure a little more money and it will be big not flash in the pan big but stable and big. Meanwhile the Big Blas or whatever the fuck they call it will have disappeared along with the fickle fans.

Lets replace the letters NSL with grassroots. This is not about the NSL . Its about getting the grassroots involved.  If we just involved past NSL clubs it would be the wrong path to take. It would be a disaster in fact.

#WazFactChecker

Got them links waz?

Its actually a good point.. what parent in their right mind says "go on junior stand in front of a rock that is hurtling towards your head at 150kms, multiple times".....

I used to play cricket when i was young and almost losf an eye. Dumb sport. Can be fun to play....but dangerous as fuck. Thank god i listened to my old man and took up the round ball.

Are you having a larf?

It's OK, Fielders have plenty of protection as well.

Not to play devils advocate but t20 cricket is much more dangerous than all sports put together and a more lethal version of the sport. And I've been seeing players get hit in the BBL this season

The reason? The urgency of needing to hit a six off every possible ball means there is a likeliness that players will play the wrong shot to the wrong ball

A cricket ball is hard, its coming at you, and youre expected to smash it for six? It doesnt matter if they are highly paid professionals, this is reckless and this will end in tears!