Probably Not the Last Word on the Hundred

 

Dobell on Don Root letter - the hundred as welcome as Covid

New Statesman article

Did the inaugural Hundred really return a £UK10m profit?

George Dobell.

Cricinfo.

Tuesday, 24 August 2021.
PTG 3621-17886.

Sanjay Patel, the managing director of The Hundred, has claimed the inaugural tournament was on target to provide a “£UK10m [$A18.9m] surplus" into the wider game, however, it's difficult to see how that stacks up.  On Monday, Patel indicated the projected revenue of the tournament to be around £UK50m ($A94.7m) against projected costs of £UK40m ($A75.8m). 

The Hundred’s owners, the England and Wales Cricket Board (EWCB), do not, however, include the £UK1.3m ($A2.5m) payment made to each of the 18 counties and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), or £UK24.7m ($A46.8m) a year in total, in return for their agreement to support the tournament as part of the event's profit and loss. If such a figure is included it would appear the series would have in fact made a loss of around £UK14m ($A25.5m).

EWCB chief executive Tom Harrison told a UK Parliament’s  Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) inquiry last year ahead of the later postponed 2020 launch of the series: "We can be completely upfront and say the budget [for the Hundred] is £UK40m, and the [revenue] this year will be £UK51m (PTG 3459-17148, 25 March 2021).  That equates to a profit of £UK11m ($A20.8m). 

The revenue for The Hundred's first season was indeed expected to total £UK51.1m ($A96.7m): a combination of UK broadcasting international broadcasting revenue of £UK36.5m ($A69.1m) and £UK4m ($A7.6m) respectively, plus sponsorship of another £UK4m, tickets at £UK6.5m ($A12.3m) and some from merchandising. 

Harrison insists the payments to the counties and the MCC should be seen as a dividend not a cost. They are not negotiable; they are not moveable; and they are paid ahead of the tournament regardless of other income. He told the DCMS inquiry: "The £UK1.3m every year to each county is a dividend and not part of the [profit and loss] of the tournament. It's is not linked to [that]”.

One county boss, who did not want to be named, estimated the actual figure for the first year should include another £UK15m ($A28.4m) to account for set-up costs - such as employing more people in the EWCB's offices and the extensive usage of consultants and focus groups. That would take the overall expenditure to somewhere around £UK78.6m ($A148.8m).

GONE SAILING DOWN THE RIVER - TRENT

So for the inhabitants of Trent, the Hundred has ended in abject ignominy. Hurried out in sub-100 deliveries, in a game of less than 80% of the advertised balls. NOT.EVERY.BALL.COUNTS. it seems; perhaps faster deliveries count more!


Southern Brave were the pre-tournament billed favourites so, it was back on script again for the final.


Clearly some people have enjoyed the Hundred and perhaps the garish colours and nonstop sensory input has attracted new people to the game that wouldn't have necessarily found the game before. However, I'm told by people who've been to Trent Bridge and witnessed Trent Rockets, that the cricket is secondary at best to the other fluff that is going on at the same time. The matchday events are all about music and audience participation; is this what the youngsters are lapping up with their complimentary tickets? Colin Hazelden on speed!


PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT WARNING!

Colin H as already promised that he's going to add "phone torch" to his Blast antics.

Assault on the senses

Do young people really only have an attention span of 100 seconds before needing another sensory stimuli? I would say not but that is what they are getting at the Hundred!


Has the Hundred been a success?


The ECB and their puppet hosts will of course laud it up - their press releases were probably written before a single ball was bowled. The TV media will also lavish praise on the competition as they have vested interests to do so.


Financial losses to host counties will probably be hidden from accounts citing that the ECB is funding this and that - strip out the TV money and the tournament could never be viable in its first, second or third years, so how can you measure success?


Getting some cricket back on the BBC has to be a good thing, even if it is in such a bastardized form. It will have raised awareness of cricket with the general public in the first couple of weeks whilst the Test players with their media-familiar names were taking part, but less so since I suspect.


I have been reliably informed that media and ECB spin about about attendances at Hundred games is largely just that - spin, exaggerations and fabrication - we've all seen the gaps at stadia on our TV screens in any case. Games haven't been sold out at all, huge swathes of tickets are available free of charge with many of the beneficiaries being local cricket clubs - lucky young Trentlanders eh! They obviously aren't that interested - as some seats remain empty. If bums on seats isn't a clear cut success, what are the results of the millions spent on the Hundred's promotion?


Maybe a few more people gave the programme a chance when it appeared on free to air BBC before switching over. Perhaps some watched it through wondering if Michael McIntyre would appear at some point or if there would be a sudden end with the EastEnders' duff-duff, for you to tune in on Thursday to find out what the next twist in fate was, except the next episode was only on Sky - so you couldn't get hooked if you had a mind to. I hope some saw that there was a game of cricket going on and that they liked the cricket that they saw. For those in the audience, I'm sorry to tell you that the season has ended now and there won't be another episode until summer 2022 - they'll have to put on repeats so you don't forget who the main characters are; but wait, next season they've already promised a new improved International cast; with new evil Aussie villains to bring down the Brave Brits, probably!


Sorry Vince.


Yes the pre-tournament favourites predictably won in the Final, so the script writers need to do some work on their plots for next year otherwise it isn't going to replace Line of Duty in the drama and suspense department. I'm sure "Vince" should have been cast as an EastEnd baddy anyway, with a name like that!


The Hundred Final was actually shown on BBC 2 last night, whilst Ironman 3 was on BBC1 - which got the most viewers, that would give a perspective of what viewers find entertaining on a Saturday night? 5.1 K were watching it on Sky Cricket on Youtube - I've seen a higher figure for live streaming of some county games on occasion. This was supposed to be a national event - it really wasn't inspite of the spin.


If they, the ECB are being genuine and the Hundred's objective is getting more people playing and participating in cricket, then the only measure of success must be if more people are joining cricket clubs in say five to ten years' time?


ECB investment


Should your local cricket club need to prepare now? Does there need to be more clubs in readiness for the influx of new players? Will they need to start clearing green belt for new cricket clubs as the previous grounds have all been sold and seen housing developed on them, as their clubs folded? Where are the Trent Mini-Rockets going to play? Once the Counties have dwindled, where are the elite Mini Rocketteers or Origin-inals going to improve and hone there skills ready for The Hundred 2035 draft, or will there be no limit on imported cast members by then?

Really in all seriousness, couldn't any of the positives resulting from the Hundred have been achieved by a rebrand, some proper marketting and a little reorganisation of the T20 Blast, but with none of the negative impact on the County structure?

Can we now get our Outlaws back, get their minds back on the serious task on Wednesday that won't be a exhibition game unlike the last 8/9 games they're participated in and will not be scripted.