Sir: I was surprised and pleased to hear from Alistair Lenczner that the BBC devotes "countless hours of prime network time" to cricket coverage (letter, 23 August), since previously it seemed to be on only during working hours or ludicrously late at night when most people had gone to bed.

I was also amazed to hear that there are "thousands of empty seats regularly seen around the televised games". The BBC televises only the one-day cup competitions and Test matches, which are almost always sold out. These empty seats must have featured in the prime-time coverage which I missed.

Sarcasm aside, I fear that if market forces ensure that the BBC cannot afford to show programmes (sports or otherwise) that are worth paying for, then it will end up showing programmes that are worth nothing.

RICHARD BARNES

Horsham, West Sussex