Big Bash spins major win for Foxtel with record audience figures
Runaway ratings success of gripping Australia-India Test series parlays into record audience for Foxtel’s Big Bash coverage.
The runaway ratings success of the gripping Australia-India Test series has been parlayed into record audience figures for Foxtel’s coverage of the Big Bash League, with a massive spike in year-on-year viewer numbers.
Across the 56 games of the regular BBL season, Fox Sports enjoyed an average live audience of 256,000, which was up 28 per cent on the previous season.
All Foxtel Group platforms experienced growth with audiences on Foxtel jumping by 15 per cent, while streaming audiences on Foxtel Now, Foxtel GO and Kayo grew by 106 per cent, compared to the 2019/20 figures.
The impressive numbers for Foxtel’s BBL coverage follow the success of the summer’s four match series between Australia and India, which was the most watched Test series ever on Australian subscription television.
The Tests recorded an average audience of 371,000 over 100 hours of live play, with Foxtel’s ratings up 43 per cent on the previous Test series between the two countries in 2018/19.
Steve Crawley, executive director of Fox Sports, said: “We have been blessed with an
outstanding summer of cricket. The Australia-India rivalry captured the nation’s imagination
while more and more fans have chosen to watch the Big Bash League on Fox Cricket.
“It’s a great endorsement of investment we have made in cricket commentary and production that we have seen such outstanding audience growth in every form of the game and we are
looking forward to the BBL finals series beginning tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Seven, which also covers Test cricket and the BBL, is continuing its legal battle with Cricket Australia.
Despite the free-to-air network also enjoying very strong ratings for its coverage of the recently completed Test series, Seven is still pushing ahead with its claims for a discount on the six-year, $450 million it paid for its share of the cricket rights, with the deal expiring in 2024.
Seven is arguing that the rearranging of the summer’s Test schedule — which had to be tweaked in the wake of the havoc caused by the coronavirus — lessened the value of the Test series to the network. It is also arguing that this season’s BBL was a diminished product due to the lack of star players, and the limits placed on live crowds at matches.
The matter is still before the Federal Court.
The BBL finals series begins on Friday night, with a knockout match between the Brisbane Heat and the Adelaide Strikers.
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