ENGLAND will once again not be shown on Sky Sports during The Ashes in Australia.
A rival broadcaster has stepped in to cover the event, after already agreeing terms for the ODI tours of New Zealand and Sri Lanka which come beforehand and afterwards.
TNT Sports have agreed a one-year deal with Cricket Australia to show the full Ashes series.
And that could be a bad omen for Ben Stokes’ side.
TNT Sports – under its previous name BT Sport – showed live coverage of the last two tours to Australia, with England losing both Ashes series 4-0.
The broadcaster also showed England’s 4-1 series defeat in India last winter.
But its coverage was less than popular as they hosted the first Test without even having a studio, as presenter Matt Floyd was forced to simply talk over the highlights during the Lunch and Tea breaks.
The channel then rushed to put a studio together in the Netherlands, from which Alastair Cook and Steven Finn provided analysis.
TNT will be sending a team to Australia to cover The Ashes live from the event.
However, the channel will use live coverage from the local broadcaster.
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Sky Sports has been scaling back its coverage of cricket’s winter tours in recent years.
In addition, a number of Sky Sports News presenters were let go over the summer as the channel moves to focus on its Premier League football coverage.
TNT snapping up the Ashes means Sky Sports will not be showing the England men’s team between this September and June next year, when the three-Test series with New Zealand gets underway.
