The 18 first-class counties will face a combined revenue loss of £85m if the entire English cricketing summer is wiped out, according to a report by Oakwell Sports Advisory.
The leading sports financial advisory firm also warned that, should no home international cricket be possible this summer, the ECB would face a £200m broadcast revenue shortfall. The governing body is currently in the first year of a £1bn deal with Sky and the BBC, and would either lose the revenue for 2020 or have to extend the deal into a sixth year.
The loss in county revenue would be down to a lack of conference and event revenue, as well as matchday income. The bigger counties stand to lose more, with ECB grants making up a larger percentage of smaller counties’ income. However, some smaller counties are in a more precarious financial position overall, according to the report, due to over reliance on the grants while still harbouring significant debts.
The ECB has announced a £61m support package for the whole game, including recreational cricket. Only a proportion of this will go to first-class counties, and the report termed the package “not sufficient to fill the cracks that will be widened by Covid-19”.
