Photo Credit: Cricket Australia
The Vodafone men’s Ashes Series has captivated the country, with an extraordinary 44 of the 47 sessions played so far averaging more than 1 million viewers watching on Foxtel platforms and the Seven network.
The dramatic final session at the SCG had a peak average audience of 2.76 million as England salvaged a nail-biting draw. The entire session averaged 2.14 million viewers, while the entire Sydney Test match held an average audience of 1.43 million across more than 29 hours of live cricket.
The total average audience across linear TV and streaming was 1.05 million for the Gabba Test, a massive 1.51 million for the Adelaide day-night Test and 1.66 million for the Boxing Day Test where the Australian men’s team retained the Ashes. The total reach across the series tallies more than 10.9 million people on Free To Air TV and 2.1m on Subscription TV.
Viewers have been sticking around, too, with 17 of 18 the match days played recording an average audience of more than 1 million viewers across the entire day, making this Ashes the most watched Test series since the 2013-14 Ashes Series in Australia.
Richard Orstroff, Cricket Australia’s Head of Broadcast & Production, said it had been an incredible Ashes series.
“It has been fantastic to see so many fans tuning into the world class coverage of Test cricket produced by our partners at the Foxtel Group and the Seven Network,” he said.
“To have well over a million people watching Test cricket is a great result, but to have that happen in almost all of the 47 sessions of cricket is fantastic, and testament to the performances of the players and the special status cricket holds as the national game.
“To attract such a vast audience both during and outside of prime time viewing hours is extraordinary. We are also extremely grateful to our fantastic radio broadcast partners in the ABC, SEN and Triple M who have done a brilliant job taking cricket to fans across the country this summer.
Photo Credit: LinkedIn profile photo of Richard Ostroff
“We’ve seen some terrific cricket with compelling stories across the whole series and we look forward to the next chapter being written in Hobart with the first Ashes and first day-night Test starting on Friday.
Name of Author: Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA), formerly the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for cricket in Australia. Established in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, CA manages all national teams, including Men’s, Women’s, and Youth sides, as well as other national teams. It oversees the organization of Test matches, ODIs, and T20Is, and coordinates home international fixtures.
