Fans the winners as Nine goes HD

Cricket fans on their couches around the country will see the game more clearly than ever this summer, with the Nine Network announcing it will broadcast in high definition from November 26. 

Nine's primary channel will make the switch to HD the day before the Third Commonwealth Bank Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide, which will be a day-night fixture broadcast into prime-time on the eastern seaboard. 

The highly-anticipated Adelaide Test is proving to be one of the hottest tickets around, with ticket sales in the city akin to the interest generated by an Ashes Test. The match will start at 2pm local time - 2.30pm on the eastern seaboard - which will mean the twilight and evening sessions will be broadcast in prime time.

"We can say that ticket sales for the Day-Night Test, have been very strong," a Cricket Australia spokesman told News Corp Australia. "Pre-sales are at Ashes level interest.

"Interstate and international visitors represent 65 per cent of the total tickets sold to date including with the majority of those tickets coming from Victoria, NSW and NZ."

SACA chief executive Keith Bradshaw said they always believed a day-night Test would make this form of the game more accessible for members and fans.

"So far, strong ticket sales are reflecting this and we expect some fantastic crowds at Adelaide Oval across the five days."

The HD simulcast of Nine's primary channel means that GEM, which currently occupies Nine's HD channel, will be moved to a standard definition signal.

Nine chief executive David Gyngell said: "This is all about using the available technology to give viewers what they want. We've been listening to feedback from our audience and consistently they tell us they want their programs in HD." 

Next week's summer-opening Test match against New Zealand and the follow-up in Perth will be broadcast in standard definition before Nine makes the switch, but the three-Test series against the West Indies, including Melbourne's Boxing Day and Sydney's New Year's marquee Test matches, as well as India's visit for one-day and Twenty20 matches, will all be in HD.

Meanwhile, vision of some of Australia’s greatest historic matches will be digitised and made available to cricket fans under a new partnership between Cricket Australia and Optus.

Under CA's new partnership with Optus, eligible customers can access the Live Pass for free, as well as a host of additional exclusive content. The Optus deal went live today. 

Learn more: The Optus Pass benefits

The three-year deal will see highlights of historic and classic matches made available on demand, with exclusive interviews and fresh insights from the players at the centre of the content made available to Optus customers.

The new deal will also provide free access to the Cricket Australia Live Pass included for Optus customers from today, bringing them live streaming of the Australian summer of international and KFC Big Bash League cricket.

Customers on eligible Optus mobile plans will be able to stream the cricket without any data charges counting against their download allowances.

The Live Pass will still be available for purchase for non-Optus customers, with no increase from last summer’s price of $29.99. Sheffield Shield and other selected matches will continue to be streamed free on cricket.com.au