Streaming software charges delayed by a year following club cricket backlash

SAM MORSHEAD: On Thursday, NV Play confirmed that the proposed changes to the subscription model would be pushed back 12 months

Amateur cricket clubs will no longer be asked to start paying for a popular live streaming service this year, following significant backlash in the community.

Last week, NV Play announced that a subscription to its Play-Cricket Scorer Pro software, which integrates live scoring with the broadcast, was to cost £500 per year from the 2022 season - with discounts available for multi-year purchases.

The technology had previously been available for free, and the move to a paid model came as a surprise to dozens of clubs up and down the country, with the changes only communicated two months from the start of the recreational season.

As a result, the mood around clubs who have invested hundreds of pounds and hundreds of man hours in streaming equipment, to heed the call to digitise recreational cricket, was irritable, bordering on angry.

Many felt they have been pulled in by the promise of increased exposure and the potential for broadened revenue, before being clocked by a financial right hook.

^{Clubs will not be charged for using NV Play live streaming software in 2022 (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

While the ECB have a formal partnership with NV Play, the implementation of the paid license in 2022 is understood to have been a business decision by NV Play, who are looking to recoup considerable investment in their technology.

The governing body, however, involved themselves in the matter last week, with a series of meetings taking place between representatives of the two parties in an effort to find a solution.

On Thursday, NV Play confirmed that the proposed changes to the subscription model would be pushed back 12 months.

In a statement, the company said: "This announcement raised questions in some quarters of the recreational cricket community. We have been listening, and have spoken to many in the community over the past week.

"We have good news. After positive discussions with our long time partners at the ECB, it has been decided to defer the introduction of fees until the 2023 season.

"We trust that this extra season of no cost streaming gives clubs a chance to build their streaming audiences and potentially develop new sponsorship opportunities as the value of your streaming content grows."

An ECB spokesperson said: "We are pleased that after discussions with NV Play, recreational clubs that use its service to live stream their matches will not be required to pay the proposed licencing fee this summer.

“We recognise that some clubs have spent considerable time and money in digital equipment. The service offered by NV Play is not an ECB product, and while we recognise that companies need to cover their costs and fund ongoing customer support, we believe it is important that clubs are given sufficient notice of any proposed changes to enable them to make plans or secure funding."

The news will be welcome across the grassroots community, but a question still remains over the viability of small and medium-sized clubs keeping a live-streaming function once the service becomes paid-for.

^{Clubs have said they will struggle to fund their streaming projects (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

While NV Play will be understandably keen to get a return on their investment, The Cricketer has spoken to or read testimony from club members across the country who have said that the steep nature of the price rise - from £0 to £500 per year, give or take the odd introductory or loyalty discount - will all but guarantee their streaming projects are kicked into the long grass.

Some who have built commercial packages into their live streaming are concerned that any profit they were primed to enjoy will be wiped out, some anticipate potentially even making a loss.

Roller maintenance, petrol, pavilion rebuilds and youth programmes are, after all, of infinitely more importance. 

Others have pointed to the fact that their club's streaming service is built on the work of volunteers, often on equipment purchased at their own expense, and that finding club money to fund the project in future years would be very hard.

NV Play have indicated that they will try to provide a lower-course, streamlined streaming service for 2023, for clubs on a tighter budget, but its price points and scope have yet to be defined. 

The entire episode underlines the fundamental structural fragility of recreational cricket.

Simply put, too many do too much. And the reliance on a handful of volunteers is as intense as it has ever been, as the club cricket community continues to rebuild after the lost summer of 2020.