Australia's answer to global Twenty20 cricket phenomenon the Indian Premier League – the revamped Big Bash League – has doubled its TV ratings and posted improved crowd figures in its latest season.
Cricket Australia's (CA) expanded Big Bash kicked off in December, sponsored by KFC and broadcast by Fox Sports, with eight new teams and featuring the return of cricket legend Shane Warne. Mike McKenna, CA general manager of cricket marketing services, said the league has been averaging about 280,000 total viewers nationally, while crowd attendance has grown 12% year-on-year with an average of 18,000 a match.
"We're really happy with it," McKenna said. "In most cases it's exceeded our expectations."
A peak TV audience was achieved on December 17 with a national total audience of 472,000 watching the Melbourne Stars play Sydney Thunder.
Fusion Strategy managing director Steve Allen said doubling its TV ratings average is "very good". Speculation has increased that the free-to-air networks may bid for the Big Bash rights when its deal with Fox Sports expires in 2013.
"Now the Big Bash is a really good program," Allen said. "If it gets really big, Nine might be interested."
McKenna said free-to-air coverage is important to grow the competition but CA will talk to "all players". "It could be [any network], to be honest," he said.
Allen put the growth of the Big Bash not down to the impact of Warne but to the overall revamp. McKenna said Warne has been just "one factor, but a pretty important factor".
Andrew Condon, managing director of M&C Saatchi sport and entertainment, said Warne has had an impact, combined with the return of other Australian players such as Matthew Hayden and Stuart MacGill, and the influence of overseas stars such as Chris Gayle.
According to analysis by Fusion Strategy, ratings for the Big Bash have faded somewhat in the later stages of the competition compared with the beginning, a trend which Allen branded as "surprising".
Allen predicts that the final of the Big Bash on January 28 between the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney 6ers may get a metro audience of total people of around 350,000.
Expansion of the Big Bash has been mooted for next season, with new teams from new cities, but McKenna said expansion would begin in 2013 at the "absolute earliest". "There's no question there's demand for it," he said.
Condon believes naming rights partner KFC would be "pretty happy" with the success of the 2011-2012 Big Bash League. KFC has been sponsoring Australian cricket for the past nine years.
"The general performance of the Big Bash compared with the previous season has been outstanding."
This article first appeared in the 27 January 2012 edition of AdNews. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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