Cricket Australia has record attendance figures in 2022-23

Cricket Australia’s (CA) governing body has hailed the sport’s record numbers domestically for the 2022-23 season.

A total of 2,400,755 fans across CA’s portfolio of operations, the highest ever for top level cricket in Australia during a record season, surpassing the 2,349,326 fans who attended games during the 2017-18 season. .

The figure includes participants in the men’s and women’s national team home series, both the men’s and women’s Big Bash League (BBL) Twenty20 competition, and the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup – held in Australia in October-November.

The number is not surprising given the attendance figures for the 45-match World Cup and the fact that the previous two seasons of Australian cricket have been greatly disrupted in terms of both schedules and fan attendance due to Covid-19. pandemic.

CA has also claimed that a cumulative audience of 44.45 million – during broadcast and live streaming – watched high-profile cricket in 2022-23.

More specifically, the BBL saw an 11% increase in viewership across all platforms, with the final between the Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat seeing an average audience of over 30% more than last year’s final.

In the men’s test matches, 24 matches (each day is divided into three) were watched by an average of more than one million spectators nationally.

Additionally, CA’s channels garnered 485.33 million video views and 93.31 million engagements on social media during the domestic season.

Nick Hockley, CEO of Cricket Australia, has said: “This record-breaking 2022-23 season reflects support for the T20 World Cup, the performances of Australia’s women’s and men’s teams and the popularity of the Big Bash League.

“These figures demonstrate the passion of cricket fans of all ages and the huge reach the game enjoys as our national sport.”

Earlier this month it was announced that the BBL final – as mentioned above – delivered an audience of over 1.3 million to pay-TV operator and domestic rights holder Foxtel.

The season finale on February 4 was watched by an average of 548,000 viewers across Foxtel’s linear channels and streaming platform Kayo.

The figure made it the most-watched match in the BBL during Foxtel’s coverage, breaking the previous record set in 2011-12.

The final also drew large numbers on free-to-air television, with commercial broadcaster Channel Seven securing a metro audience of 502,000.

A record 53,886 fans, meanwhile, attended Optus Stadium to watch the home side triumph from the last ball, the biggest crowd for any BBL final – and indeed for any one-day cricket match in Perth.

This season has been hailed as the return of the T20 competition after years of decline in audience and viewership.

The above figures come less than two months after CA announced the BBL would be downsized as part of a new A$1.51 billion ($1 billion) broadcast deal with Seven and Foxtel.

The seven-year deal, which runs from 2025 to 2031, will see the size of the BBL reduced from 61 matches to 43 matches per season in an attempt to tackle declining audiences and TV ratings.

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