FTA or not they need to move away from these next to meaningless 3 match week-long ODI/T20 tours (I know they count for World Cup qualification, but no one brings that up).
Previously the momentum from the tests continued into the ODIs (tri-series or not). Now, the touring party leaves before anyone even notices they’re here.
When cricket was on FTA there were ads telling people to watch and that made people buy tickets and actually go instead, I think if the series was advertised more then it might get a bigger crowd but maybe only another 5-10k more. the main issue is the scheduling, it’s in November & it’s a weekday if it was in December & maybe game 1 or 2 then a bigger crowd was a possibility
it’s similar to the Aus vs SL 5 T20s in Feb. they played the dead rubber matches 4 & 5 in Melbourne (big Sri Lankan community) and only got crowds of 14k & 17k, when in 2017 1st T20 at MCG got 43k.
There was meant to be ODIs with South Africa after the tests in January 2023, but South Africa forfeited them for the purposes of the Super League/WC qualification. They’re trying to restart their own T20 league - third time they’re trying to do that - and it was seen as too important to them. Of course, it would be when they’re getting big IPL money (something like AU$130 million or so over 10 years for the franchises, all owned by IPL teams), which kinda underscores the point.
CA won’t mind either as it’ll release the better players for the back end of the Big Bash…
CA weren’t worried about ratings when they sold out to Fox. Given the mess they made with the last rights deal, an exclusive deal with Paramount/Ten won’t be that bad an outcome compared with sharing the rights between Fox and some FTA network.
I don’t really see a situation where prime time Test cricket viewership suffers if it’s exclusive on an FTA network regardless if that’s Ten, 9, 7, SBS or the ABC. I also feel the BBL will regain some momentum if it’s on a network which actually cares about the product rather than 7 or Fox dialling in a half-hearted broadcast out of contractual compulsion.
Channel 10 has a reputation for being the place where sports fade away
The BBL, ODIs and T20s would have not died if 10 got the rights instead of Seven/Fox.
Points from the article:
Not really true - they were put into the ecosystem in Fox/Kayo where there is a naturally established sports audience.
I think it is a bit hard to predict what the ratings will be and 10 shouldn’t be judged on that fact when talking about the cricket rights. the big bash did well on 10 better than it has on 7 and people will tune in to whatever channel the test cricket is on no matter if it is 10 or not.
Lol. Code sports, now who owns them again? Oh that’s right Murdoch News.Ltd, so it’s not like them to start talking down the rivals in a sports bidding process.
Let’s just remind those at Fox, Murdoch News.Ltd, if it was based on ratings, it won’t stay on fox’s lazy 200k national ratings figures.
Only thing that needs to be said, FTA is available for all Australians, fox is available to who want to pay for it.
The next generation of cricket fans doesn’t come from fox. As good as cricket without adverts is, you have to be a total fan of cricket to watch it.
FTA gets people who aren’t that interested in it watching it.
I agree - however comparing a FTA broadcaster’s ratings to a STV/online one is fraught with issues.
I agree, but when it’s a newscorp Murdoch media saying it, it’s fair game.
As I have said before, CA would be better off with Ten/Paramount instead of Seven/Fox. Foxtel and Seven are very toxic, as Seven throw tantrums when things don’t go their way and Foxtel are just very toxic in general, as the people there are toxic as well as Sky News who have a toxic culture. Even News Corp papers are toxic as well as Fox News in the US. If a sport goes to Fox/7, it is sure to die.
The BBL went to Ten in 2013. During 2013-2017, the ratings grew and grew and BBL was becoming a new popular form of Cricket thanks to Ten. However Seven/Fox stole rights off Ten/Nine and all the growth the BBL made is in the trash.
ODI’s and T20 were on Nine for years, and were also on Foxtel. However in 2018, Foxtel partnered with Seven and ditched Nine/Ten and stole Cricket off of them. Even worse, Seven decided to give T20 and ODIs to Foxtel/Kayo exclusively, and what were once very popular forms of Cricket are now in the trash, with a recent ODI getting less than 10k crowd at the MCG.
The AFL has been hit less hard in terms of how it has been affected, but it is widely criticised by fans for the Fox/Seven coverage. During 2002/2006 and 2007/2011, a lot of people found Ten’s coverage to be superior over Nine/Seven/Fox, and now it is toxic. The AFL probably didn’t care as they are sometimes seen as toxic. Unfortunately the AFL is with Seven/Fox until 2031.
Meanwhile when a sport goes to the other networks, the coverage is widely acclaimed.
If Cricket Australia don’t want a toxic deal that is worse off for the fans and the company (seeing as probably if Seven/Fox got rights, ODI/T20/BBL would all be exclusively on FOX with Seven only having tests), they should go with Ten/Paramount. Not to mention they are a very rich company and the only reason they didn’t get AFL rights was due to AFL only wanting Seven/Fox and pushing them to their absolute limits due to Ten’s $600m, $6 billion deal.
I don’t think the falling ratings of the BBL are as simple as that. Yes network Ten’s commentary team was miles ahead of seven’s BBL team (had they acquired rights to all formats I dare say that would have changed). But a big reason for the decline in viewers over the past few years is the quality of cricketers who are involved. During its prime on ten there were world class players in almost every game, think imports like Pietersen, Flintoff, Malinga, Mccullum, Sangakara, Gayle, Kallis and regular big name Australian players like Finch, Hodge, Hogg, Siddle, Tait, Maxwell and more. You could turn on any game and be guaranteed to see a couple of big names. Now the imports are average and the big Australian names only play a couple of games a season.
Also the BBL going for like 3 months is too long for most, some people do get tired of Cricket after a period of time, not helping is the lack of International talent as you said.
The BBL will be dead if 10/Paramount have exclusive rights to the Cricket. Unlike when they last had the rights, they won’t have 9 as the main cricketing broadcaster promoting the game that they can draw viewers from.
Where does this rubbish come from?
Industry statistics say Ten is headed down a slippery slope to becoming the first free-to-air network in Australia to ever drop below a 20 per cent audience share, after falling behind the ABC this year.
ABC and SBS have never been above 20% and 10 dropped below 20% in 1999. 10 years ago 10 was on 18% and has stayed there ever since.
The T20s and ODIs will be dead if Seven/Foxtel have exclusive rights to the Cricket.
From the wonderful offices of News.Ltd Murdoch.
This is the same old BS that they pull out when their backs are against the wall with sports rights.
Don’t know how many times it needs to be said - ODIs are already dead, and it’s not entirely the fault of the tv deal