Photo Credit: Twitter Cover Photo of @BBL
The KFC Big Bash League extends its sincere thanks to the members, fans, clubs, players and partners who ensured BBL|12 was a hugely successful season that welcomed more than one million attendees and was enjoyed by millions of viewers across the country.
A record-breaking 53,886 fans were at Optus Stadium to watch the Perth Scorchers win the Championship Trophy in a thrilling final, the largest crowd at any BBL Finals match and at any cricket match in Perth.
An average audience approaching 1.4 million watched The Final on Saturday night across Seven, Foxtel and streaming services including Kayo, representing a 30% increase on the BBL|11 Final.
Among the other KFC BBL|12 data highlights:
- An 11% increase in total audience across the 61-game tournament across all platforms year-on-year, including linear TV growth of 5% across Seven and Foxtel, and a 57% increase in streaming audiences across Foxtel platforms and Kayo.
- A 22% year-on-year increase in total audience across the five-game Finals series.
- The average linear TV audience per match in KFC BBL|12 was 523k per game, ensuring the Big Bash League remains the most-watched sporting league in Australia on a per-game basis.
- The KFC BBL|12 season had the equal highest number of close games, with 16 games being decided by a margin of six runs or less or a successful run chase in the final over (excluding DLS matches). This record was equaled in the BBL|12 Final as the Scorchers chased down the Heat’s total of 175 in the last over.
- Average match attendance of 16,725, the league’s highest average attendance since BBL|09.
- Over one million fans attending matches across venues in seven states and territories, including five sell out games.
Records were also broken on the pitch, with both individual and team achievements across the 61-games, including five of the seven highest scores of all time.
The Adelaide Strikers, led by Player of the Tournament Matt Short, set a new BBL run chase record, scoring 230 runs to emerge victorious over the Hobart Hurricanes in an historic thriller at Adelaide Oval. They were also responsible for setting a world-record when they dismissed Sydney Thunder for a mere 15 runs, the lowest total ever in a T20 game.
Individual records were also set, with Sydney Sixers quick Sean Abbot becoming the first player ever to take 150 BBL wickets, while Steve Smith was the first ever Sixers player to score a BBL century and the second ever player to hit back-to-back tons in BBL games.
A hat-trick each by Brisbane Heat’s Michael Neser and Hobart Hurricanes’ Nathan Ellis equaled the tally for the most hat-tricks in a BBL season. And with the bat there were ten individual scores of 90 or above, equaling the second most in a BBL season.
Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s General Manager, Big Bash Leagues, said:
“The KFC BBL has the best fans in the country, and we are grateful to all those who attended and tuned in to watch our twelfth season.
“Bringing joy to our fans and delivering the summer’s best show was the driving force for everyone across the League and clubs after two years disrupted by the pandemic. We are immensely proud to have achieved such a great result and we thank every person who played a role in making this season so special.
“This season had many memorable moments from hat-tricks, balls hitting stadium roofs and unbelievable shots to huge run chases, multiple tons and near impossible catches. It has been a season of highs and lows, thrilling victories and agonising defeats, once again reminding us why the Big Bash League is Australia’s number one summer sporting proposition.
“I would like to thank the clubs including all players and staff, match officials, broadcast partners Seven, Foxtel, Kayo and SEN, commercial partners KFC, BKT, Toyota, Weber, Woolworths, Nerf, Nike and 47, venues and curators and our own people who all played a crucial in helping this memorable Big Bash season come alive.”
