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As far as opening weekends go it was hit and miss for the shiny new Big Bash League. Armchair sports fans were more than happy to give the new competition a go, but dragging the target demographic through the gates proved a little harder.
We were told a crowd of 30,000 at the SCG on Friday night would prove the BBL would be the soundtrack to the summer, but only 12,285 showed up.
On Saturday night, the MCG was meant to be rocking with 50,000 T20 fanatics to see Shane Warne attempt to put Dave Warner in a spin. They got 23,496.
Ticket prices weren’t at the Beckhamesque levels of other recent high-profile matches.
You could get an adult ticket for as low as $20, and a child could walk through the turnstile for as little as $5 at either ground.
Awareness also couldn’t have been an issue. The T20 marketing campaign had been in overdrive all week. Besides, how could you miss a Godzilla-sized Warne trampling his way through the streets of Melbourne?
It seems Fox Sports was the real winner.
According to Cricket Australia, the Thunder’s match against the Stars on Saturday night was the fourth-biggest subscription television audience in Australian history.
So, how do you measure success after the first four-games?
CA officials were last night very keen for all and sundry to know just how well the contests were rating, while pointing to the fact that bigger crowds will be in the stands over the festive period.
When details of the competition were first announced in February this year I wrote about fans’ reactions to manufactured tribalism.
Would a game between two teams you’ve previously had no affiliation with make you spend your hard-earned? The general reaction was no.
As far as the structure goes, Cricket Australia have done a fantastic job.
Having two teams in Sydney and Melbourne and one in each of the other states right away is something Football Federation Australia officials would no doubt be envious of. Tickets are cheap and most sides have a big name or two to create interest in their market.
The competition will continue to rate well because Twenty20 cricket is a fantastic bite-sized viewing package for the sport fan and the casual watcher.
It will also no doubt add plenty of value to CA’s next rights deal, but does it excite you enough to put the family in the car and head out to the ground? And is that the true measure of success?
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