Big Bash League’s viewership has been on a downward decline since 2018/19. This has prompted Cricket Australia to consider shortening the tournament from 56 matches to 40 matches in a season in order to revive interest in the tournament.
The Big Bash League’s viewership figures are becoming a cause of concern for Cricket Australia. Public interest in the T20 league has been on a steady downward spiral since the 2018-19 season. Despite efforts being made to increase the appeal of the tournament with the introduction of three new BBL rules last year, it hasn’t made much of a difference. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has only seemed to make matters worse, and numbers continue to decline.
The most recently held edition of the tournament collided with the high-profile Ashes series between England and Australia. As a result, most Australian stars were missing for the larger duration of BBL11 due to international commitments. This conflict hampered domestic and global interest in the Big Bash League as the Ashes filled the primary need for cricket consumption.
For all these reasons, CA are now considering a shorter Big Bash League tournament with the number of matches being reduced from 56 to 40 each season.
BBL chief Alistair Dobson also highlighted that the reviews of the recently-concluded season are prompting for changes to be made from next season. Scheduling and the availability of crowd during the matches are key points to be kept in mind.
“One of the silver linings of COVID is it has given us better opportunities for changes. Everyone is of the mindset that we have to bounce back bigger. We review the season every year and the scheduling is probably our biggest process every year. The shape of the season.
Where and when our games are played. We will have a really close look at it ahead of next season. We are in consultation with our key partners about what the best looking BBL is,”
Dobson told AAP.
Following the pattern of the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash League might also look to expand from eight teams to become a 10-team tournament.
“It’s hard to know what the future will look like in a constantly evolving BBL. The BBL is currently made up of eight really strong and passionate clubs. We work really closely with all our clubs on making them as strong as they can be. That is our priority,”
he added.
