Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
The championship winning Brisbane Heat have capped this summer’s victorious KFC Big Bash League season with a series of on and off field records.
On the field, the Heat were the most successful club across the Big Bash League and Women’s Big Bash League after finishing runners-up in the WBBL, complementing the club’s BBL|13 premiership. The 54-run victory over the Sydney Sixers to claim the BBL title marked the Heat’s second men’s championship.
Heat fans responded to the performances on the pitch with support at record levels.
The club averaged 25,787 attendees for home games at the Gabba, a year-on-year increase of 35 percent. The club also set a new membership record with 14,507 members signing on.
The Heat enjoyed corporate support to match with a 21 percent increase in corporate hospitality guests enjoying the season in luxury.
With the Gabba unavailable for Finals, the Heat continued to grow the club’s fan base across Queensland as 20,919 fans attended the club’s Qualifier Final against the Sydney Sixers at a sold-out Gold Coast Stadium, setting a new cricket record for the Gold Coast.
Brisbane Heat merchandise also sold-out record levels, with BBL|13 representing the club’s biggest season in merchandise sales since BBL|07.
The Big Bash League continued to buck the trend of TV viewership with significant growth in national numbers. The BBL remains the most-watched Australian domestic sporting competition on a per-game basis, with the WBBL the fifth most-watched.
The Heat averaged 634k viewers per game across the BBL season with streaming numbers through Kayo, Foxtel Go and Foxtel Now still to be added.
Channel Seven’s free to air coverage was a particular highlight of the summer with Brisbane viewership for Heat matches increasing by 40 percent and metro TV numbers increasing by 8 percent. Kayo reported earlier in the season that viewing numbers are up 16 percent, while short form BBL content was up 112 percent, making it the most streamed BBL season to date.
Wednesday’s Final was watched by a national average of over 952,000 fans across Channel Seven and Fox Cricket, while Kayo’s coverage was the second highest ever streamed BBL game. Channel Seven’s coverage also reached over 2.1 million people nationally on free to air TV.
The Heat’s WBBL Final against the Adelaide Strikers had an average national viewership of over 410k, the highest rating WBBL match in two seasons.
The Heat continued to lead the way in social media engagement with the club maintaining their position as Oceania’s most followed club across all social channels, with engagement growing by 37 percent.
The Heat also continued to support community initiatives to assist in the growth of grassroots cricket and community clubs with $166,00 raised for the Queensland Cricket Foundation to assist the Foundation’s purpose of making cricket more accessible. The Foundation also contributed $29,000 of in-kind support to community groups and charities through ticketing and merchandise requests.
Brisbane Heat CEO Terry Svenson said:
“The 2023-24 season has been one to remember for Heat fans. Our teams excelled on the field with a BBL championship and finishing runner-up in the WBBL, so it’s been rewarding to see our performances on the field assist in driving growth in our fanbase.”
“You only had to see the turnout at Queen St Mall on Friday and the number of families and kids there to see our team lift the trophy to understand how much it meant to so many people and the impact the WBBL and BBL are having on the game.
“All of our players and staff are thankful to the support of our members and fans who make the hard work pay off when we see so many smiles on people’s faces.
“We are also eternally grateful to our sponsors and media partners whose support of the Brisbane Heat allows Queensland Cricket to reinvest in community cricket to run programs and support our volunteers.”
Name of Author: Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat are an Australian professional cricket team competing in the Big Bash League (BBL), representing both men’s and women’s cricket. Based in Brisbane, Queensland, the Heat succeeded the Queensland Bulls, who played in the former KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. The team wears a teal uniform and plays at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, known as The Gabba.
