‘A total revolution of cricket coverage’
Sky Sports for Sky Sports Cricket
As the host broadcaster for cricket’s newest competition, Sky Sports wanted to bring the sport to younger audiences and prove it is for everyone.
The focus was on simplifying the sport, with judges praising the “dynamic” and “outstanding” graphics that were created to engage fans and tell the story simply through the currency of runs and balls.
One judge described it as “a total revolution of cricket coverage” with “a real sense of fun”.
New technology also included a win predictor that used an algorithm to indicate which team was winning, player avatars, and a helmet cam to bring viewers closer to the action.
Sky Sports assembled what the judges described as a “fresh and diverse” range of commentators, with an equal number of men and women injecting “genuine humour” into the coverage.
Covering 68 live matches, with women’s games streamed on YouTube and men’s matches made available on Sky’s basic platform, The Hundred attracted peak audiences of more than 1 million – on a par with the most-watched England matches.
More than half of the 16 million who tuned in saw live cricket for the first-time, with a notable increase in families and young people particularly impressing the judges.
“I didn’t want to love this as a cricket purist,” said one judge. “But it brought a lot of fun and younger viewership to what turned into an excellent event.”
SHORTLISTED
2021 Africa Cup of Nations
IMG Productions for BBC
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Extreme E
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Sky News: Climate Live
Sky News for Sky News
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