The Men’s Big Bash League (BBL) 2023–24 and Pakistan’s tour of Australia have just ended, and Cricket Australia and Star Sports—the official broadcaster of Cricket Australia in India—have reported a spike in Indian viewership.
The BBL 2023–24 season was the most watched in India, with over 55 million viewers watching the whole thing on Star Sports Network, 203% higher than the previous season. In addition, the broadcaster has recorded 3.75 billion minutes of viewing, which is a 105% increase over the prior season. For the first time ever, five languages were used to broadcast both the Star Sports semifinal and championship.
More than 9.5 million people watched the three Tests in the bilateral series between Australia and Pakistan, which is a noteworthy 54% rise over the previous Pakistan tour down under.
The Star Sports Network, which is available in nine out of ten Pay TV homes, a well-rounded marketing campaign promoting the Australian summer, and high-quality broadcasts tailored for Indian fans, along with the increased interest in Australian cricket following a successful World Cup campaign in India and the promise of action-packed matches, all contributed to this spike in viewership.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley expressed his happiness, saying, “We are thrilled that Indian cricket fans have a strong interest in Australian cricket and that this has translated into such large viewing audiences on Star Sports.” This season’s BBL viewership of an astounding 55 million people is very satisfying, as it is evidence of both the caliber of cricket and Star Sports’ excellent coverage, which includes multilingual coverage of the BBL Finals.
It is a measure of the excitement in this world-champion Australian squad and the everlasting enthusiasm for Test cricket in India that over 9.5 million viewers watched the recent series against Pakistan on Star Sports.
“After Australia and India emerged as the world’s two best Test sides, we are eager to welcome India for the five-Test Border Gavaskar Test Series next summer. He continued, “We are excited to collaborate with Star to bring our localized offering to Indian fans in time for the blockbuster season of the upcoming summer.
Sanjog Gupta, Head of Sports at Disney Star, stated: “The growth in viewership for the Australian summer is testament to the compelling combination of the TV network’s wide distribution, Cricket Australia popularity, and Star Sports’ brand equity as the most loved destination for sports.” The notable increase in watch duration and engagement further indicates the Indian fan base’s taste for good cricket and their openness to viewing various formats of the game.
The significance of Australia’s World Cup victory in India, along with other important content initiatives like the addition of Indian languages for the BBL playoffs, have strengthened the already strong partnership between CA and Disney Star. The voyage together is off to a great start, which excites us.
The thrilling series of two Tests, three ODIs, and three Twenty20 Internationals featuring the West Indies visit to Australia is presently running on Star Sports. The T20Is between Australia and the West Indies will be shown in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada on the Star Sports Network because of the increasing fan interest in Australian cricket on the platform.
On the Star Sports Network in India, viewers can also watch the women’s cricket series between South Africa and Australia.
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