Standing at the end of 2025, there is one or the other cricket match going on in different parts of the world with some channel covering it. With media houses competing with each other, and new houses growing up, there is a question that lingers- when was the first time a cricket match got televised? On 24 June 1938 the BBC did something that would change how the world watched cricket: it broadcast live coverage of the Second Test between England and Australia at Lord’s — widely recognised as the first cricket match ever shown on television. The event was part of the 1938 Ashes tour and BBC television crews placed cameras on the Nursery End to beam pictures to the tiny number of TV sets in Britain at the time. Television in Britain was still experimental in the late 1930s. The BBC Television Service (launched 1936 from Alexandra Palace) was exploring outside broadcasts of big public events — sports offered an obvious attraction. The BBC organised cameras and commentary for the Lord’s Test as part of those early outside-broadcast experiments; commentators (historic accounts mention Teddy Wakelam among the early cricket commentators) relayed the action while cameras captured the play from above the Nursery End. The transmission was an editorial decision of the BBC as it expanded outside broadcasts, not a commercial TV stunt. How many people watched the game? The decision grew from the BBC’s experimental outside-broadcast programme in 1938 (the same year it televised the Boat Race and England–Scotland football). Notably television ownership in Britain in 1938 was comparitive small in terms of other existing media. By the end of 1938 only about 9,315 television sets had been sold in England — therefore the TV audience for the Lord’s Test was measured in the low thousands at best, certainly nowhere near radio or crowd numbers. Importantly, the BBC was (and is) publicly funded via licence fee and was prohibited from carrying commercial TV advertisements, so the broadcast did not generate ad revenue in the modern commercial sense — it formed part of the BBC’s public-service programming. However, the match was drawn despite huge scores on both sides. England captain Wally Hammond scored 240 runs, while Australia's Bill Brown scored 206 in the first innings. The first televised cricket in India Cricket and television in India share a long, intertwined history that shaped how millions experienced the sport. Although television had arrived in India by the late 1950s, the path to live televised cricket was gradual and cautious. India’s first television service was launched by Doordarshan on 15 September 1959, initially as part of All India Radio’s broadcast experiment in Delhi. In the early years, TV programming was limited and educational in focus. Regular daily transmission began in 1965, but live coverage of sports — especially cricket — was still rare and technically challenging at the time. Cricket on Film, Not Live TV Before live broadcasts were possible, Indians watched cricket on the big screen. Films shot during matches were edited into newsreels, which were shown in cinemas before feature films. This method was the only way that Indian audiences could see match footage until the mid‑1960s. Cinema‑based cricket reels included domestic tournaments like the Bombay Quadrangular and even matches involving touring teams. Studios such as Bombay Talkies captured and screened highlights, often with running commentary, well before television could carry live action. Read also: 3 Players Sunrisers Hyderabad Should Eye in IPL 2026 Auction First Live Cricket Telecast in India The first cricket match to be telecast live on Indian television occurred during the 1966–67 West Indies tour of India. A tour match — Indian Prime Minister’s XI vs West Indians — held at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi became history when it was broadcast live, though only viewers in Delhi could watch it due to limited transmission infrastructure. This milestone marked the beginning of a gradual expansion of live cricket on television. Later matches, including international Tests involving touring teams like Australia, were also telecast live but still largely restricted to urban centres with TV transmitters. Television vs. Radio and Newsreels Even as live TV coverage began, All India Radio continued to offer cricket commentary nationwide, while television broadcasts remained constrained by technology and limited reach. Television gradually became the preferred medium because it provided actual visuals — not just audio — bringing the game into the living rooms of fans. The 1970s and beyond saw steady improvements in broadcast infrastructure. By the time India achieved historic victories and major international series, television had begun to shape how the nation consumed cricket. What began as restricted live telecasts in a few cities eventually grew into a nationwide obsession, culminating decades later in massive televised viewership and commercial rights deals.