Despite Low Numbers This Year, Big Bash League Sets Season-High TV Rating

Australia's T20 cricket Big Bash League "recorded season-best ratings on Fox Sports" Wednesday night, according to Michael Bodey of THE AUSTRALIAN. The Perth Scorchers' "last ball win over the Melbourne Stars, which secured the team a grand final berth," averaged 369,000 viewers nationally. The number "is still well down on audiences" the domestic competition attracted last year, including 478,000 for Shane Warne's debut with the Stars. The record, however, "is a fillip for Cricket Australia," as it negotiates with free-to-air networks for its next broadcast deal. This year's BBL "struggled in its early matches with poor attendances and the TV audience ratings averaging only 230,000 before Christmas." Saturday's match averaged 178,000 viewers, but Wednesday's match "did much better" attracting 277,000 (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/17).