‘This is unbearable’ – Sky criticised for Headingley YouTube watchalong
Sky Sports Cricket were on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism from online viewers on their YouTube stream of the final day of the 2019 Headingley Test.
After twice U-turning over whether to broadcast the entirety of the final day’s play on their YouTube channel, the stream originally featured a simple replay of the action from that historic day in Leeds. However, from the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow, Sky Sports Cricket’s online coverage featured regular pundits Rob Key and Nasser Hussain hosting a ‘watchalong’ first with Joe Root and Chris Woakes, and latterly with Mike Atherton and Jonny Bairstow.
While TV viewers were able to switch to Sky Sports Main Event to watch the cricket without the input of Key, Hussain, Root and Woakes, those without a Sky subscription were unable to choose to turn off the ‘watchalong’ coverage that was widely criticised in the comment section as the quartet spoke over commentary from the original Sky Sports broadcast, available to those without a subscription for the first time.
✅ Home stadium
✅ England captain
✅ Historic #Ashes Test win@root66 talks through a day to remember for him, more than most that day at Headingley? Watch the #SkyEasterWatchalong now on @SkyCricket and Sky Sports Cricket Youtube pic.twitter.com/YXeinneadk
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) April 11, 2020
A number of viewers expressed their frustration at their inability to watch the original watchalong-free coverage. Some of the harsher comments included: “This is unbearable,” “Although I appreciate the idea this is awful. Like having a Zoom call with your Nan, entertaining for a minute but you can’t wait for it to end”, “Please can you do a separate stream with just the match footage and the commentary?” and “I’m switching off, this is awful.”
Not all the feedback was negative, however. One user said: “If you’re complaining, at least it’s free!!” while another argued: “This match has been re-screened plenty of times. This is a new perspective for the rest of us to enjoy. Please quite your whining.”
