By John Christie
July 2 2009
As sky marches across British sport like a panzer division over Poland, I was interested to see how many watched Murray’s five set win Monday night on the BBC --TWELVE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND--.Sky can only dream of such figures , they had the England U21s final that night, which was counted in the thousands.
There's only a handful of sporting events the government have deemed the "Crown Jewels" of British sport that sky are not allowed to touch, Wimbledon being one, FA Cup final, Grand National and think some of England's qualifying games, but not all.
Now I know the amount of money sky bids for its sports and I can understand sports knocking their door down for the riches they bestow upon them, but I see long term disasters for many sports.
I recall, in the 70/80s, massive TV audiences for our boxers live on the BBC/ITV. Barry Maguigan, John H Stacey, John Conteh, to name a few, were national figures known to all.
Now, boxing on sky is watched by the minority, our boxing champions total strangers on any high st. The Ashes will go unnoticed by the majority this summer which is a national disgrace.
All international sport should be deemed as crown jewels so the nation can watch. Sport more than anything else can join a nation together. Our great national sports should be enjoyed by all, not the privileged few.
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