Cricket Australia has announced that a record 2.4 million fans attended matches over the 2022-23 season, which encompassed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, BBL, WBBL and men’s and women’s international fixtures.
The figure of 2,400,755 has surpassed the previous record of 2,349,326, which was set in the Ashes season of 2017-18.
In addition to the new attendance record, there was further growth in broadcast and streaming figures, with a cumulative audience of 44.45 million.
The BBL T20 season boasted an 11% increase in viewership across all platforms, and the final between the Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat was watched by an average audience of over 1.3 million.
The T20 World Cup and Weber WBBL resulted in more cricket being watched in October than in any previous season, with a 31% increase in audience, year-on-year. Twenty-four men’s Test Match sessions were watched by an average audience of over one million nationally.
“Following two challenging seasons due to the pandemic, we are absolutely thrilled that more fans have attended cricket matches this season than ever before,” said Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley. “This record-breaking 2022-23 season reflects the support for the T20 World Cup, the performances of the Australian women’s and men’s teams and the popularity of the Big Bash Leagues. These numbers demonstrate the passion of cricket fans of all ages and the massive reach that the game enjoys as our national sport.
“With the Future Tours Program and long-term partnerships with broadcasters Foxtel Group and Seven West Media confirmed, we are more focussed than ever on delivering brilliant experiences for fans in 2023-24 and beyond.”
Hockley added: “I’d like to thank all our fans, players, broadcast, commercial and government partners, venues and staff for making it such a record-breaking season.”