Australia’s Summer of Cricket has delivered a ratings clean sweep, with both free to air and subscription broadcasters posting record breaking results across broadcast and streaming.
On the free to air side, Seven Network has capped off one of its strongest summers on record, led by The Ashes becoming the highest rated Test series ever on Seven and the Big Bash League delivering its biggest audience in six years.
Across the season, cricket coverage on Seven and 7plus Sport reached 16.8 million Australians, dominating key demographics and timeslots. Viewing on 7plus Sport surged dramatically, while Seven recorded its highest ever December share and its strongest January start on record across total TV, broadcast and BVOD.
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The Ashes alone reached 14.2 million viewers, with the Fourth Test at the MCG setting a new benchmark as the highest rated Test match ever on Seven. Big Bash League audiences were also up year on year, with the BBL|15 Final drawing the biggest audience of the season.
Meanwhile, subscription audiences flocked to Foxtel Group platforms, with Fox Cricket delivering its most watched and most streamed Big Bash League season of all time.
BBL|15 became the most watched BBL season across Foxtel Group platforms, driven by record streaming growth on Kayo, where more than 1.1 billion minutes were streamed across the season. The Finals series also set new records, with the Qualifier, Challenger and Knockout all ranking as the most watched of their kind.
The record breaking results have been welcomed across broadcasters and rights holders, with Fox Sports pointing to continued innovation as a key driver behind the strong audience response.
Fox Sports Managing Director Steve Crawley said the record breaking audiences reflected both the strength of the Big Bash League and the continued evolution of the network’s cricket coverage.
“It has been a privilege bringing every ball of this exhilarating BBL season to our customers, with our production and commentary clearly resonating with audiences.”
From the governing body, Cricket Australia said the numbers reinforced the global standing of the competition and the value of its broadcast partnerships.
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Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson said the season’s results confirmed the BBL’s position as one of the world’s leading T20 competitions.
“BBL15 has been a record breaking season capped off by another incredible performance by the Perth Scorchers as they claimed a sixth title.”
On free to air, Seven said audiences embraced premium cricket across every screen throughout the summer.
Seven Director of Sport Chris Jones said the summer’s results showed the enduring appeal of cricket across free to air and streaming platforms.
“Delivering record breaking audiences right across the summer, fans embraced the competition in huge numbers, with streaming on 7plus growing by 115 per cent year on year.”
Despite the Test series ending earlier than some summers, Australia’s Summer of Cricket delivered strongly across broadcasters and screens, driven by the enduring popularity of the sport and a resurgence in the Big Bash League.
The Seven Network will carry that momentum forward with its live and free coverage of the Australia v India Women’s series, continuing the Summer of Cricket across Channel 7 and 7plus from mid February.
Meanwhile, Fox Cricket has bolstered its schedule with the addition of three late night Australia v Pakistan T20 internationals, airing live and exclusive across Foxtel and Kayo on January 29, January 31 and February 1.
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