Rob Moody (born 23 November 1977) is an Australian YouTuber and cricket enthusiast. He is known for his collection of old cricket footage.[2] His defunct YouTube channel titled Robelinda2 was one of the largest cricket archival channels in the world, possibly larger than that of the International Cricket Council.[3][4] He has been praised for his contributions to the growth of cricket.[5] He had more than a million subscribers[6][7] before his channel was terminated on 5 November 2023 after a series of copyright strikes.[8][9]

Rob Moody
Personal information
Born
Rob Moody

(1977-11-23) 23 November 1977 (age 47)
NationalityAustralian
Occupations
SpouseBelinda
Websitewww.robelinda.com
YouTube information
Also known asRobelinda
Channel
Years active2010–2023
GenreSport
Subscribers1.11 million[1]
Total views3.7 billion[1]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2021

Last updated: 10 February 2022

Career

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Moody had recorded live cricket matches since the 1982–83 Australian cricket season, including the Ashes, at the age of five. Switching to DVDs from video tapes in the 1990s, he also converted them to hard disks.[10] In the end, 300 videotapes, 25,000 DVDs and 60 hard drives amounted to 100 terabytes of footage.[11]

Moody created his first YouTube channel, robelinda, on 7 November 2006, later opening a new channel called robelinda2, and uploading numerous Australian and international cricket clips.[12] Many were from obscure matches not broadcast as television highlights. 90% of the views on his YouTube channel came from India.[13]

His videos began to come under scrutiny over possible copyright violations.[13] In March 2020, he received warnings from the International Cricket Council demanding that he delete the footage from any ICC event from 1992 onwards. They suggested that he delete just over 100 cricket videos, stating that they did not have any intention of closing his channel. On 16 June 2020, his cricket video library was temporarily shut down by Twitter, before Cricket Australia intervened.[14][15][16]

Moody's videos became more popular especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when international cricket was halted.[17][18] His YouTube channel grew by 200,000 subscribers and was viewed 249 million times during this period.[6] A social media campaign was launched by Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon from The Final Word podcast, demanding an Order of Australia honour for him in recognition of his services to cricket.[19]

On 5th November 2023, his YouTube account was terminated after a series of copyright strikes, described by Fox Sports as being of questionable validity.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "About robelinda2". YouTube.
  2. ^ "A Cricketing View: A Conversation With Rob Moody About His YouTube Cricket Videos en Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts (in European Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Robelinda2 aka Rob Moody Rules The World of Cricket Archives – Social Nation". 4 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ^ Suresh, Anirudh (20 June 2020). "Rob Moody's heroics demands introspection on BCCI's (lack of) effort in giving back to fans". SportsCafe.in. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. ^ "The ultimate cricket librarian". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Rob Moody aka robelinda2: Cricket's video jockey". The Indian Express. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Game Time: YouTuber Robelinda2 aka Rob Moody, the great cricket archivist". The Indian Express. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  8. ^ "'Sad day': Much-loved vintage cricket account Robelinda2 'terminated' after questionable copyright saga". Fox Sports. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  9. ^ https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/muchloved-cricket-account-robelinda2-terminated-after-questionable-copyright-saga/news-story/a609392c1cfc4cd0c5e8a955c5a0b0d4
  10. ^ "Footage at his fingertips: travel back in time with collection of rare cricket videos". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Meet the fans behind some of the world's biggest online cricket archives". Hindustan Times. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  12. ^ "How Rob Moody – Robelinda2 – Built His Archive Of Cricket Clips". Wisden. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Cricket Australia backflips on threat to sue popular social media identity". 7NEWS. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Why cricket boards should be more liberal with archival footage". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Copyright claims against Rob Moody, aka robelinda2, 'made in error', says Cricket Australia". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Rob Moody had been posting highlights online for years — until Cricket Australia sent him a copyright infringement". ABC News. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. ^ Mohanarangan, Vinayakk. "Cricket during times of coronavirus: Cult of Youtuber robelinda and his golden footage collection". Scroll.in. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  18. ^ "In time of no cricket, Rob Moody keeping the game alive". WION. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  19. ^ Wu, Andrew (27 March 2020). "Relief for cricket-starved fans as beloved YouTube channel bats on". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  20. ^ "'Sad day': Much-loved vintage cricket account Robelinda2 'terminated' after questionable copyright saga". Fox Sports. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  21. ^ https://www.theroar.com.au/2023/11/03/robelindas-iconic-channel-is-facing-extinction-for-the-good-of-the-game-this-travesty-must-be-stopped/