question_answer 8)

How have advances in technology, especially television technology affected the development of contemporary cricket?  

Answer:

The 1970's was the decade in which cricket was transformed. Kerry Packer, an Australian television tycoon, signed up fifty of the world's leading cricketers and for two years conducted unofficial tests and one day internationals under the name of World Series cricket. Televised coverage expanded the audience for the game by beaming cricket into small towns and villages. Coloured dress, protective helmets, field restrictions and cricket under lights became popular. Cricket boards became rich by selling television rights to television companies. Television channels made money by selling sports to companies for large sums of money to air their commercials to the captive television audience. Continuous television coverage made the cricketers celebrities, who now made large sums of money by making commercials for a wide range of products from tyres to colas on television. The technology of satellite television and the worldwide reach of multinational companies created a global market for cricket, making it highly popular.