With the completion of the 2019 World Cup in England, the attention turns to the upcoming 2019 Ashes Test series between Australia and England starting in August.
The Poms will be red-hot coming off the back of their first World Cup trophy, while Australia will be looking to get their first away series victory since 2001, despite comfortably winning on home soil.
In recent years, the landscape of broadcasting cricket in Australia has changed significantly. For decades we were used to having the cricket on Channel Nine with commentary legends such as Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry, Tony Greig and Ian Chappell, while Channel Ten televised the Big Bash League since it’s inception in 2011.
Last year was the dawn of a new era that saw all Australian international and domestic cricket broadcasting split up between Foxtel and Channel Seven in a deal worth $1.182 billion over six years. The agreement marks the first time in 40 years that Channel Nine has not broadcast the Australian summer of cricket.
Both channels aired men’s and women’s Test cricket as well as the BBL and WBBL. Foxtel received exclusive rights to the men’s ODI and international T20 matches.
The 2019 Ashes series in England will kick off on Thursday 1st August at Edgbaston in Birmingham, a little later in the year than usual, due to the 2019 World Cup.
It’s set to be a interesting series with the Aussies sure to cop an earful from the English public. The visitors welcome back Steve Smith and David Warner, who will play their first Test series since returning from their 12 month suspension following the ball tampering scandle that rocked Austalian cricket last year.
The Aussies currently hold the prized little urn, however no visiting team has won a Test series in England since 2010-11.
Despite losing the rights in the new broadcast deal, Channel Nine had already previously locked in the 2019 Ashes series, meaning they will exclusively telecast all five Tests.
| Match | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test | 1st – 6th August (8:00PM AEST) | Edgbaston |
| 2nd Test | 14th – 19th August (8:00PM AEST) | Lord’s |
| 3rd Test | 22nd – 27th August (8:00PM AEST) | Headingley |
| 4th Test | 4th – 9th September (8:00PM AEST) | Old Trafford |
| 5th Test | 12th – 17th September (8:00PM AEST) | The Oval |
Channel Nine plans to broadcast The Ashes live and uninterrupted on their sister 9GEM channel.
“But that’s a Standard Definition channel!” I hear you say.
Well yes, it is, however Nine has launched a new HD channel, just in time for the 2019 Ashes Series. There will now be a High Definition version of 9GEM located on channel 95 of your television.
UPDATE: Seems like Channel Nine will swap the coverage of the Ashes between their main channel 90 and 9GEM on channel 95 depending what other shows they are scheduling.
If you are out and about and you would like to watch The Ashes on the go, Nine also have the digital rights to the series. This means that you can download their 9NOW app on your smart phone or tablet to watch live play. The app is available on both iOS and Android.
