T20 World Cup: Female sport goes premium, says top rights consultant

The spectacular success of the World T20 final on Sunday is a signal that women’s sport has arrived as a premium product.

The AUstralian team celebrate their T20 World Cup win over India at the MCG. Picture: Getty Images

The spectacular success of the World T20 final on Sunday is a signal that women’s sport has arrived as a premium sporting product, according to Australia’s leading broadcast rights consultant.

A crowd of 86,174 packed into the MCG to watch Meg Lanning’s Australians lift the trophy after an 85-run win over India. And more than a million people watched from their couches, despite Nine Network’s decision to air the final on its secondary digital channel.

Colin Smith, of Global Media and Sport, described the crowd and the ratings figures as “very significant numbers”.

Watch LIVE coverage of the best international & domestic cricket on KAYO with FOX CRICKET’s unmatched commentary line-up. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

“If Channel 9 had their druthers they would put it on their main channel,” Smith said.

“The T20 final coupled with the 54,000 who attended the AFLW grand final last year indicate there is a groundswell of support for premium women’s sport.

“This was a step forward in the rightful recognition of women’s sport as a premium product.”

Smith said he expected to see the value of women’s sports broadcast rights increase on the back of the World Cup win. However, he said Cricket Australia faced the challenge of translating the Australian team’s success to competitions such as the WBBL.

“They need to make sure they have the best players in the world playing in the WBBL and they build a genuine tribalism in each team,” he said.

Translation of the success to other women’s sports would be even more challenging.

“The question is how do we actually lift the bar in a very competitive market,” Smith said. “How does it flow to soccer, rugby, rugby league.

“The AFLW has grown dramatically, perhaps even too fast, but as they build, in five years, as standards improve, it will be a juggernaut.

“It’s up to all sports to build the traditions and enhance the tribalism of their women’s teams. It’s not about equal pay, it’s about embracing their women’s teams as much as they do their men’s teams.”