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?
Michael DiFabrizio
Expert
Fair call adam, a lot of it can be attributed to hype and Warnie. Worth noting though that ratings have remained solid since the first round of games (ie, after the hype has died down somewhat) - http://www.michaeldifabrizio.com/big-bash-league-tv-ratings
adam214
Roar Rookie
It's simple its a new thing that people hadn't seen before (well in this form anyway) there was warnie back on the tube for something other than his sexual exploits. Alot of people wanted to give it a go watching it on the couch to see if it was decent and worth the effort to go to a game and in my opinion it was decent cricket and for the first week not too shabby crowds. It was a bit odd and slightly insulting to see a victorian team wear SA's colours and shaun tait playing for them. But i like the strikers gear different colours than usual and a bit grating to not wear traditional colours but they'll grow on me i'm sure. Hell its not too bad we can beat the vics double the amount of times we could before. :D
dlang30
Roar Pro
The crowds can certainly grow if CA choose the right paths and give the fans teams that they can be 'passionate' about to support. Obviously people are interested, but I hope for the good of the game it's not just a temporary rush of blood with Warnies comeback the main motivator and that people really give the BBL of 2011-12 a proper chance.
stabpass
Guest
I have heard our rugby teams desribed as provinces, and thought, am i missing something here, did i fall sleep during that history lesson. Does not sound right to me for this country.
Luke Doherty
Roar Guru
Hi LK, I'm an employee of Sky News Australia. We're in no way connected to fox sports, but as others have commented above and below the STV numbers the Big Bash produced were huge and worthy of a mention. So no I have no obligation what so ever to talk up the BBL.
Fake ex-AFL fan
Roar Rookie
I must admit to being fascinated that Rugby Union has identified a previously unknown political entity within the Commonwealth of Australia not mentioned in the constitution, that is "somewhere in between" a state and a territory. Ground breaking stuff.
WoobliesFan
Guest
I'm with Faker. Suburb, city, state....that's what we have in this country and that's what we work with. What's next - county?
Michael DiFabrizio
Expert
That explains it, thanks Brett. Subiaco's probably a good comparison.
sheek
Guest
Faker, Sorry about that. I realise you AFL types are behind the times!!! In rugby we call them provinces, since ACT-Southern Inland (incorporating Southern NSW) is neither a state nor territory but somewhere in between. Furthermore, if we decided to partition Northern NSW into Eastern Australia, it would also be a province, bigger than a territory, but not quite a state. Besides, it brings us in line with NZ & SA, who both have provinces.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
488k is a very, very big number for Fox sports.
Brett McKay
Expert
Deefa, that's greatly aided by the fact they're playing at gounds owned by the sport (Although the same goes for Subiaco and Footy Park, too). There may not even be any stadium deals to speak of, aside from Etihad and Homebush...
Fake ex-AFL fan
Roar Rookie
On the subject of Australian history and geography Sheek, what the hell is a province? Worse yet a 'Mother province'. We have things called 'states' and if you think people struggle to identify with the Melbourne Stars, just wait until you throw 'Northern Victoria' at them.
Michael DiFabrizio
Expert
The thing cricket has going for it that other domestic sports don't seem to have is favourable stadium deals. I don't know the specifics, but I do know if they can afford to play Sheffield Shield games with barely any fans at venues like the MCG, the stadium deals musn't be very crippling. In pretty much all other sports, the stadium deal can be a deal breaker. NBL teams have disappeared because of the high cost of venues like Hisense Arena. A-League teams have struggled to deal with the cost of renting stadia (see the two SE Qld teams). Even AFL teams, at Etihad in Melbourne and AAMI in Adelaide, struggle to make a profit on game day when the crowd isn't big enough. Given this, I think the fact crowds were so-so in week one yet ratings were huge indicates that it was a successful start for the BBL. Crowds don't matter so much, in cricket they don't appear to influence things as much as other sports, but TV ratings, that's what's important.
Michael DiFabrizio
Expert
Brett and Cattery, Geelong had a really good bid for Season 1 from all reports. Only missed out because CA preferred having two Melbourne teams. With lights coming to Simonds Stadium in the not to distant future, surely they are the logical choice? The other thing that works in their favour is there isn't any competition over summer in the form of the A-League or NBL (who do well in NQ, and the Gold Coast have both). Same goes for Canberra (and Hobart, for that matter). There's a slight obsession in Aussie sport at the moment to follow what other sports are doing, but to me it might be wiser to try and find the old "gap in the market" and work from there.
sheek
Guest
Matt F, Actually, you can create other provinces out of a mother province. The old Transvaal split into Northern, Western & Eastern as well as Transvaal itself. The old Cape Province split into Western Province & Eastern Province. In addition to Auckland, you have North Auckland, North Harbour & Counties-Manakau. In addition to Canterbury, you have Mid-Canterbury & South Canterbury. Naming new provinces is a good exercise in creativity. A Western Sydney team could be called Western NSW or perhaps better still, Cumberland. A Newcastle based team could be called Eastern Australia. A Gold Coast team could be called Border, since it straddles the Qld-NSW borderline. In rugby, Southern NSW Country has split from NSW & is now part of ACT. But they still refer to themselves as ACT-Southern Inland. They really are in need of a creative new provincial name. My suggestion is Monaro. A good opportunity is presented here for sports fans to brush up on their Australian history & geography.....
Renegade
Guest
11'000 at Adelaide and 13'000 at the WACA yesterday....23 in Melbourne and 12 in Sydney. Here are the comparisons for the first game at each venue last year. WACA - Capacity MCG - 29'500 Adelaide - 18'000 Sydney - 15'000 There's a visible decrease in attendance....hopefully they grow as the tournament goes on.
Whites
Guest
Sunday Night 1 First game LIVE: CRICKET: BIG BASH LEAGUE FOX SPORTS 2 349,000 2 Second game LIVE: CRICKET: BIG BASH LEAGUE FOX SPORTS 2 273,000 3 Pre-match LIVE: CRICKET: BIG BASH LEAGUE FOX SPORTS 2 160,000
Renegade
Guest
"Let the AFL manage the BBL…then you will have a success. CA couldnt make a buck at the mint" Can you get your tongue out of AD's arse for once?? I'm having trouble comprehending the rest of your comments because of it.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Brett all good points, and that's certainly true about NZ cricket having a right to develop their own comp- we all sometimes get in the habit here of treating it as an Australian outpost (much to the chagrin of Republican). I know the ACT Government's budget is ultra tight at the moment, and there is plenty of annoyance about the whole GWS thing ($20 mill over a 10 year period or whatever it was), so it's a delicate situation, not to mention that Bruce probably needs renovating sooner rather than later. With 40 AFL games guaranteed over the next decade (incl pre-season games), and the (near) promise of a T20 team, which would be huge for Canberra Summer sport, one would hope that the lights aren't too far away. A Canberra T20 team would easily top crowds of 10k on a regular basis, so they are an obvious choice for the 9th team - once that is made public, the ACT Government should act. Perhaps the AFL can throw a mill or two towards that project?
The Barry
Roar Guru
Crowds were probably down for the tests because they were stioll getting charged premium prices. Did CA charge punters any less because the Aussie side is poor compared to previous incarnations and they were 'only' playing NZ ? I went to day 1 of the Ashes test last year and including ticket prices, travel, mid-strength beers and luke warm hamburgers it was a bloody expensive day. Happy to do it for an event but not to watch this Aussie side bumble away against NZ. No offence kiwis.