The Big Bash League, which is often abbreviated to Big Bash or BBL, is an Australian professional franchise T20 cricket league. The league was established by Cricket Australia in 2011.
Since the league’s inception, it has been sponsored by the world-famous fast food chicken outlet, KFS. at the moment, there are eight city-based franchises in the competition.
There is no denying that the Big Bash League has been a massive success. Alongside the Indian Premier League, these two leagues are the only ones in T20 cricket to have featured in the top ten domestic sports leagues based on average attendance.
Not only do a lot of people attend these events, but there is interest in them around Australia and overseas as well. A lot of people check BBL live score pages so they can keep up-to-date with what is happening in the game.
But what is it about the Big Bash League that has been such a success?
The Big Bash League has really focused on the family element
One of the reasons why the Big Bash League has been able to attract such a high number of attendees is because it heavily focuses on the family side of things.
Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Anthony Everard, Cricket Australia’s manager of the BBL, said the following:
“The biggest insight is how children see entertainment, particularly sport. It really is about dad and mum and the kids having a good time. It sounds simple, but it can be hard to execute at times.”
This family-friendly element is something that Cricket Australia is pushing even further, as they have created a cricket-themed television show called Crash the Bash, which is shown on Nickelodeon.
The sponsorship deals have been flowing in
Everard has also revealed that all eight BBL franchises are profitable. This is not always the case in sports leagues around the world. There has been a bit of a snowball effect as well, as sponsorship deals have been flowing in as a result.
There has been $1 million worth of sponsorship for the Women’s Big Bash League alone. We are also seeing membership sales increasing. Everything is moving in the right direction.
When you consider the exposure that the league is getting in terms of broadcasting deals as well, it is not hard to see why the Big Bash League is in such a healthy place. This is certainly a model that other cricket leagues around the world can follow in order to increase the success and viewership of their leagues.
The success of the Big Bash League
So there you have it: an insight into the success of the Big Bash League. There is no denying that the Australians very much lead the way when it comes to the world of cricket, and the success of their T20 league is a fine example of this.
