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The notion that women’s sport doesn’t rate on television may need to be reassessed by networks, after the Women’s Big Bash cricket managed to almost double the A-League averages for free-to-air on Friday nights.
Channel Ten, in partnership with Cricket Australia, agreed to broadcast select matches in the Women’s Big Bash League. The first two broadcasts (Brisbane vs Adelaide and Sydney vs Perth) had averages of 165,000 and 132,000 viewers respectively, according to Mediaweek.
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These figures are even more impressive given the early afternoon timeslots. A Fairfax report suggests Channel Ten would have been reasonably happy with 40,000 viewers, so the sizeable audiences tuning in has surprised many.
A-League football has reportedly averaged 78,000 viewers on SBS 2 on Friday nights, with a further 62,000 tuning in on Fox Sports.
The Women’s Big Bash also out-rated the free-to-air figures for the men’s cricket One-Day Cup and NBL.
According to Ten’s head of sport, David Barham, part of the success is due to the game broadcast being treated exactly the same as the men’s.
“One of the reasons it’s working is we’re putting full resources into it. There is no difference between the quality and the amount of cameras we’re using in the women’s and men’s game,” he told Fairfax.
“It’s probably the only women’s sport in this country with 30 cameras on it. It’s the highest quality coverage we can do.”
Channel Ten has so far chosen to broadcast women’s cricket on its multichannel ONE HD, but given the impressive viewing stats it will be interesting to see if the network moves games to its primary channel. They may have no choice if the figures continue to remain strong for the other six scheduled broadcasts, including the January 24 final.
While the ratings are a massive boost for women’s cricket, and women’s sport in general, it’s also an indication of just how popular Twenty20 cricket is.
The men’s Big Bash has averaged around the one million viewers per game mark, with the first game – the Sydney derby – breaking the record for a non-final.
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