Australian cricket witnessed a landmark summer, registering unrivaled viewership numbers. Notably, women’s cricket has been a significant contributor to this success, with its popularity rising to levels comparable to its male counterpart. The numbers serve as a testament to the growing appeal of women’s cricket and the bridging of the gap with men’s cricket in terms of audience engagement.
The 2025 Women’s Ashes emerged as the most-watched women’s international cricket event in history, drawing an average cumulative audience of 4 million, an 87% increase from the previous edition in Australia in 2021-22.
The highly anticipated day-night Test match set new records as the highest-rated women’s Test in Australia, with daily average audiences climbing 27% higher than in the last series. Day two attracted an average of 539,000 viewers, while the final session peaked at 803,000, making it the most-watched segment of a women’s Test match ever.
The T20 Internationals of the Ashes series also saw impressive growth, averaging 571,000 viewers across Seven and Foxtel, reflecting a 74% rise from the previous series. The first T20I alone drew 622,000 viewers, the second-highest figure ever recorded for a bilateral women’s T20 International.
Meanwhile, the ODI series averaged 385,000 viewers, up 86% from the 2021-22 edition, with the first ODI setting a new record at 498,000 viewers, the highest-rated women’s ODI in history.
Beyond the Ashes, Australia’s ODI series against India experienced a 60% surge in viewership compared to the 2021-22 series, reaching an average audience of 260,000, the highest ever for a non-Ashes women’s ODI series.
The Australia-New Zealand T20I series in September witnessed a 17% increase in viewership compared to the October 2023 series against the West Indies.
Domestic cricket also saw a surge in popularity, with Women’s Big Bash (WBBL) 10 averaging 105,000 viewers per match, marking a 38% year-on-year increase and the highest since WBBL 07. The WBBL remains the most-watched sporting league in Australia during October and November on a per-game basis.
The Brisbane Heat vs. Sydney Sixers match following the Perth Test drew an average of 321,000 viewers across Seven and Fox, making it the highest-rated home-and-away game since WBBL 06 and the most-watched match of the WBBL 10 season.
Nick Hockley, CEO of Cricket Australia, praised the massive viewership of the men’s and women’s international series and the Big Bash Leagues, emphasizing the immense popularity of cricket among Australian audiences this summer.
Steve Crawley, Managing Director of Fox Sports, extended his congratulations to Cricket Australia and the players for a successful season.
Chris Jones, Director of Sport at Seven Network, highlighted that the summer’s cricket events such as the men’s and women’s Test Series, the Big Bash League, and Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka were the standout sporting moments of the 2024-25 summer, underscoring the strong collaboration between Cricket Australia and Seven.
(Inputs sourced from cricket.com.au)
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