Big Bash Future

[eddiesmith]

Tennis has just had a pretty decent fortnight and while the woman's Test was brilliant the Barty effect on cricket could be pretty big. I was a high school in the 80s when Cash came good and cricket haemorrhaged numbers for a couple of years after that.

Funnily enough the biggest boost I saw to cricketing numbers at senior level was when England won the Ashes in 2005, seeing a tight competitive series boosted numbers the next season and a few years after that.

We had clubs including ours with 8-9 senior teams. We’re back to 5 now and the other clubs are similar.

 

[damochandler]

From memory he bowled 100 overs in the Shield Final as an 18 year old (which is ironic given the underage restrictions that ever other kid was under) then went to South Africa won the test and surprise, surprise broke down with a back injury

He had a back injury from the shield final. He had an foot injury going into the test and it got worse

 

[Jamurp]

Funnily enough the biggest boost I saw to cricketing numbers at senior level was when England won the Ashes in 2005, seeing a tight competitive series boosted numbers the next season and a few years after that.

We had clubs including ours with 8-9 senior teams. We’re back to 5 now and the other clubs are similar.

That was when cricket was still on free to air in the UK too right? That series seemed massive in terms of crowds and the celebrations afterwards, clearly a massive cricketing following in England, the switch to cricket on Sky pay tv hasn't helped things though, at least the Hundred is on the BBC.

 

[IKnowtheDog]

Tennis has just had a pretty decent fortnight and while the woman's Test was brilliant the Barty effect on cricket could be pretty big. I was a high school in the 80s when Cash came good and cricket haemorrhaged numbers for a couple of years after that.

That was also at a time where Australian cricket was affected by the rebel tours and also the national team was struggling.

Pat Cash was huge at the time also. In 1986 The MCG showed the Aus-Sweden Davis Cup on the scoreboard, whilst out in the middle Gladstone Small was tearing through the Aussies.

The Barty affect will be similar to the Perry affect where girls will be attracted to play more than 1 sport.

 

[eddiesmith]

That was when cricket was still on free to air in the UK too right? That series seemed massive in terms of crowds and the celebrations afterwards, clearly a massive cricketing following in England, the switch to cricket on Sky pay tv hasn't helped things though, at least the Hundred is on the BBC.

Yeah but I meant in Australia it actually provided a big boost in interest in cricket actually seeing a competitive series.

 

[hamohawk1]

Yeah but I meant in Australia it actually provided a big boost in interest in cricket actually seeing a competitive series.

I know the money is always there but i can't think of one sport which has benefited long term from going behind a paywall.

 

[The Passenger]

I know the money is always there but i can't think of one sport which has benefited long term from going behind a paywall.

The English Premier League has gone from strength to strength* but that is an exception to the rule and to do so requires a far larger fan base than you'll find in cricket outside India.

Cricket in the UK is barely a second tier sport and the move to pay TV is a large part of the reason.

* In terms of revenue, crowd and general public interest of the league. There are plenty of fans who bemoan the disconnect between football clubs and their fans in the current day but it hasn't resulted in any drop-off in support. Unlike say rugby union in Australia or cricket in England.

English cricket is quite lucky that the support it has is quite passionate so stadiums are still full for internationals (helped by smaller capacities) but what it has lost is the majority of those who have (had) a passing interest in the game and would at least be across the current cricketing headlines. I don't even bother bringing up cricket with my non following mates anymore. It could be the middle of an Ashes series and they wouldn't even know it's on. That's what English cricket has lost since the move to Sky.

 

[eddiesmith]

So if 2 million people are watching test cricket in Australia including the womens test and yet the Big Bash final gets only 800,000. Can anyone really claim the BBL is a ratings success?

 

[Teen Wolf]

So if 2 million people are watching test cricket in Australia including the womens test and yet the Big Bash final gets only 800,000. Can anyone really claim the BBL is a ratings success?

Yeah it's a total failure if you expect domestic cricket to rate as well as the Ashes... which no rational person would.

Better question is how are Ch10 feeling about letting the BBL slip for a few pennies, now that they're paying $200m for the A-League to pull in 44,000 viewers on their main channel.

 

[Nuggetz]

Yeah it's a total failure if you expect domestic cricket to rate as well as the Ashes... which no rational person would.

Better question is how are Ch10 feeling about letting the BBL slip for a few pennies, now that they're paying $200m for the A-League to pull in 44,000 viewers on their main channel.

Worst thing for the BBL was moving from ch.10 to 7/fox.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Worst thing for the BBL was moving from ch.10 to 7/fox.

Worse than expanding to 14 rounds (which coincided with the move but would've happened even if it didn't change networks)? I don't think so.

Either way, CA got what they wanted, given they don't have the best interests of the BBL nor Ch10 in mind. Perhaps that will change with the next broadcast deal, idk.

 

[010203]

Why too much Big Bash League is barely enough

When it comes to the T20 competition, more is more.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Cleavy]

Why too much Big Bash League is barely enough

When it comes to the T20 competition, more is more.

www.smh.com.au

"Consider a magic round or two in new markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, and keep extending BBL’s reach to regional Australia."

lol no

 

[Redline]

You can't compare Test and BBL ratings.

I am not convinced the increase in games is the main problem. The comp had issues before Covid but it hasn't helped the last couple of years having games on at neutral venues or in front of no crowd. Small things like commentators obviously not at the ground make the product poorer

They definitely need more marque players. In the case of the Strikers take out Rashid and you are left with a good group of cricketers but no one exciting. I think most teams are the same

Taking it off free to air was a huge mistake.

 

[Pippen94]

"Consider a magic round or two in new markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, and keep extending BBL’s reach to regional Australia."

lol no

Cricket is international & can travel. Bledisoe Cup sold out in Japan & Hong Kong. This is not afl

 

[Pippen94]

Why too much Big Bash League is barely enough

When it comes to the T20 competition, more is more.

www.smh.com.au

Great article. Pretty much what I've been saying. Why would cricket cut revenue by reducing competition which gets great TV ratings?!

Big Bash is one true national league & a lot here are greatly threatened by it's potential.

Bbl should be longer with top players featuring.

 

[Pippen94]

So if 2 million people are watching test cricket in Australia including the womens test and yet the Big Bash final gets only 800,000. Can anyone really claim the BBL is a ratings success?

Running every night in prime time getting ratings it does it is.

 

[Pippen94]

Yeah but Hobart doesn't have a city with 5M people an hour's drive away.

Just think it's easier to get Geelong people to follow a team called Melbourne than the other way around.

The Renegades playing games in Geelong still makes sense, like you say Greater Geelong has a large enough population, which only gets bigger with summer holiday makers

Geelong doesn't make sense in a national competition

 

[Pippen94]

BBL just can't compete with the Aus Open. The Aus Open is everything the BBL isn't - elite players, short duration, important.

Imagine a BBL that ran for two weeks, every night, the best players in the world, steeped in history, followed all around the world
Or an Aus Open that ran for two months, every night, full of players happy to get wildcard in Grand Slams , no one outside of Australia cares whatsoever.

Bizarre take. You know the difference between a tournament & league?! Maybe afl should run for only a fortnight too?!

 

[tombomb]

Every time someone goes on about the ratings for the BBL, I think of Shooter McGavin saying 'yknow what else would draw a crowd? A golfer with an an arm growing out of his a**'.

 

[kickazz]

Every time someone goes on about the ratings for the BBL, I think of Shooter McGavin saying 'yknow what else would draw a crowd? A golfer with an an arm growing out of his a**'.

But he eats pieces of s**t for breakfast so why listen to him.

 

[Cleavy]

What next for the BBL?

The tournament has had to navigate two disrupted seasons but there were warning signs before the pandemic

www.espncricinfo.com

The future is probably deny there is a problem currently.

 

[Redline]

What next for the BBL?

The tournament has had to navigate two disrupted seasons but there were warning signs before the pandemic

www.espncricinfo.com

The future is probably deny there is a problem currently.

They do need to do something to change the conversation. There is so much negativity around the competition that even anything decent is over shadowed by people talking about the standard or there beng to many games as true as it might be.

I have no idea how they fix that because I feel even if the standard improved and there were less games people still say the comp is no good.

 

[Jamurp]

They do need to do something to change the conversation. There is so much negativity around the competition that even anything decent is over shadowed by people talking about the standard or there beng to many games as true as it might be.

I have no idea how they fix that because I feel even if the standard improved and there were less games people still say the comp is no good.

Unfortunately it's become a meme league, people talk of it like a joke, very hard to change that thinking. Perhaps get rid of the gimmicks and focus on raising the standard of the comp might help.

 

[big_e]

They do need to do something to change the conversation. There is so much negativity around the competition that even anything decent is over shadowed by people talking about the standard or there beng to many games as true as it might be.

I have no idea how they fix that because I feel even if the standard improved and there were less games people still say the comp is no good.

It reminds me a bit of ODIs in the mid to late 90s, where people got a bit bored with them so they started ******* about with the format. Playing in 25-over blocks, changing fielding restrictions, etc. If you are constantly tinkering, it makes people think there is something wrong with it. Otherwise you wouldn't be changing it.

So when CA introduces the Bash Boost Point (or whatever it is called), you're telling people that a lot of these games get boring by midway through the second innings. The floating power play is because innings sometimes meander and we need to liven it up a bit. Different rules also makes it harder for casual viewers and those in other countries to follow what's going on. I don't have a particular problem with the bat flip (there's nothing inherently special about a coin), but a few years into it and most people still think it's a bit stupid.

So there are some quick wins that would remove much of that negativity, and they can start rebuilding from there.