The Hundred is back. August has brought the thud of ball on bat into homes, pubs and pockets across Newcastle. Matches flash by in bursts of colour and noise, and for cricket followers in the city, the question is no longer whether they can watch — it’s how they choose to do it.
From streaming platforms to on-demand highlights, sport now lives alongside a wider world of online leisure. The same screens carrying live action also open doors to countless other forms of digital entertainment competing for attention. Live theatre broadcasts and virtual music festivals to interactive gaming platforms, the choice is vast. Film premieres can now be streamed at home the same night they hit the red carpet.
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The shift to digital access has changed how audiences plan their viewing, allowing major events to fit seamlessly into daily life. Schedules can be adapted around work, travel or social plans without missing a key moment. This flexibility sets the stage for following tournaments in real time, no matter the format or location.
Sky Sports holds the keys to every fixture. Its Sky Sports Cricket channel carries the full run, from first delivery to final ball. Viewers with Sky Go can tune in live, shifting between screens as they move through the day. For those avoiding long contracts, Now offers the same feed without the tie-in, meaning a one-off pass is enough to see a weekend double-header or a crucial midweek clash.
The BBC’s free-to-air coverage sits alongside this. BBC Two and BBC iPlayer have selected games, among them the opener, high-stakes double-headers and both finals. There is a greater focus on women’s matches this year, a shift that gives the schedule a new balance. It’s an open door for anyone with a signal and the time to watch.
For many, sound is the way in. BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra provide ball-by-ball accounts, turning each over into something you can picture without seeing it. The commentary runs alongside city traffic, morning commutes, late-evening walks. In Newcastle, where sport is part of the background noise, the rhythm of bat and ball fits easily.
Travel complicates things. A trip abroad can mean blocked streams and unavailable channels. A virtual private network changes that, re-routing the connection so UK services still work. With it, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go and Now stay within reach, no matter the location.
Beyond Britain’s borders, the tournament has spread wide. In the United States, Willow TV has the rights. Elsewhere, broadcasters such as DAZN, Fox Cricket, Kayo, FanCode, ESPN and SuperSport take it into living rooms far from Lord’s or Headingley. The Hundred has grown into something that travels, both in person and online.
Its format is made for this era — a hundred balls per innings, fast enough to fit into an evening, long enough to build a story. In Newcastle, that means a match after work, or both games in a double-header on a quiet Sunday. With live streams, replays and highlights, the game waits for the viewer rather than the other way round.
The digital layer goes further. Clips from big moments appear within minutes on social media. A clean strike over the rope, a diving catch at the boundary — these move almost instantly from the pitch to a phone screen. Between fixtures, interviews and behind-the-scenes glimpses keep the story running.