Australian fans watched cricket in huge numbers as a blockbuster summer delivered record viewing figures for Cricket Australia's (CA) broadcasting partners Foxtel and Seven West Media, and in India on JioStar.
The engrossing NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the excitement and drama of the KFC BBL and Weber WBBL, and the dominance of the Australian Women's team throughout their CommBank Women's Ashes whitewash captivated viewers across the season.
With an optimised schedule ensuring full days of Test cricket were followed almost immediately by BBL matches, millions of Australians watched cricket throughout the day as Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, Seven and 7plus Sport brought them all the action.
Global audiences were also enormous with 192.5 million viewers watching the series on Jio Star in India - the most-watched away series ever in India and the second greatest audience for any Test series in India, including home series, home or away.
Men's International
Australia's successful bid to regain the NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years was the most-watched test series under the current broadcast partnership. This included:
- A 48% year-on-year increase in Test viewing audiences with an average daily audience of 1.47 million viewers across the entire day - eclipsing the 2021-22 Ashes Series as the most watched Test series in the Foxtel and Seven era.
- 40 sessions of play averaged more than 1 million viewers with 10 sessions averaging more than 2 million viewers.
- 10 of the top 17 viewed live sports events were Test cricket in 2024 and the first week of 2025.
- The Sydney Test was the highest rating Test in the history of Seven and Foxtel, averaging 2.03 million viewers across the entire Test - up 84% YoY.
- The final session of the SCG Test was the highest rating session of the summer, averaging 2.6 million viewers. This was behind only the AFL GF, NRL GF and three State of Origin matches as the most watched live sport program in the preceding 12 months.
- The Boxing Day Test averaged 1.9 million viewers, with the thrilling final session watched by an average audience of 2.3 million - the highest rating Boxing Day Test in the past decade.
Women's International
Culminating in the CommBank Women's Ashes clean sweep, this was the most watched women's international season in history. This included:
- A cumulative average audience of 4 million viewers across the Ashes series, an increase of 87% on the 2021-22 Ashes. This made it the most-watched Women's Ashes series held in Australia.
- The Day/Night Ashes Test was the highest-rating women's Test in Australia, with daily average audiences up 27% on the 2021-22 Ashes. Day two averaged 539,000, including 803,000 viewers for the final session, both records for women's Tests.
- The three Ashes T20 Internationals averaged 571,000 viewers across Seven and Foxtel, up 74% on the 2021-22 Ashes. The audience for the first T20 of 622,000 was the second-highest rating bilateral women's T20 International ever.
- The ODI series was watched by an average audience of 385,000 across Seven and Foxtel, up 86% on 2021-22. The audience of 498,000 for the first ODI was the highest-rating women's ODI ever.
- Audiences for the ODI series against India across Seven and Foxtel were up 60% on the most recent (2021-22) series between these two teams, with the 260,000 average audience the greatest for a non-Ashes ODI series.
- September's Australia v New Zealand T20 series audiences were up 17% on the October 2023 T20 series against the West Indies.
KFC Big Bash Leagues
A pulsating KFC BBL|14 ensured this was collectively the most watched BBL season broadcast by the current rights-holders and the most watched ever on Foxtel Group, while Weber WBBL|10 also recorded significant increases in viewing audiences. This included:
- The BBL confirmed its status as Australia's most watched sports league on a per-game basis with average audiences for BBL|14 growing 20% year-on-year to 770,000 viewers nationally.
- The 34 matches simulcast across Seven, Foxtel, 7plus Sport and Kayo Sports (including the four Finals) were watched by an average of 911,000 viewers.
- The KFC BBL|14 Final between the Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder was the second highest rating BBL game ever and the most watched in nine years reaching a national average audience of 1.6 million, with estimated reach of more than 3.5 million.
- This was 43% greater than the KFC BBL|13 Final, and the most watched BBL game ever across each of Seven, Foxtel, 7plus Sport and Kayo Sports.
- The KFC BBL|14 Finals drew an average audience of 1.145 million per game, the most for a finals series of four or more games and of any length since BBL|07.
- The average audience per match for Weber WBBL|10 was 105k - a 38% year-on-year increase and the largest since WBBL|07.
- The WBBL remains the most watched sporting league during October/November on a per-game basis.
- The Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers match following the Perth Test averaged 321,000 viewers across Seven and Fox - the highest-rating home and away game since Weber WBBL|06 and most-watched game of the Weber WBBL|10 season.
Record-Breaking Audience in India
The NRMA Insurance Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 delivered unprecedented viewing figures on the Jio Star network, which produced coverage in five-languages for fans in India. Branded by JioStar as The Toughest Rivalry, the series broke Indian viewership records.
- 192.5 million TV viewers watched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy across the Jio Star network with 52 billion minutes of viewing time - the second greatest audience ever for a BGT series.
- This was also the second most watched series ever on Indian television including India's home and away series.
- The vast audience represented a 74% increase on the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy series played in Australia.
Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia CEO said:
"The enormous audiences for our NRMA Insurance men's test and CommBank women's international series and the KFC Big Bash Leagues reaffirm how many Australian viewers were captivated by cricket this summer.
"Our optimised scheduling with full days of Test cricket followed by Big Bash League games proved particularly successful with viewers watching in big numbers across the whole day.
"We're extremely grateful to our broadcast partners Fox Sports, Seven West Media and JioStar who provided world class coverage by producing iconic images and insightful analysis throughout the summer.
"That 192.5 million viewers watched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series on Jio Star in India again demonstrates cricket's ability to reach vast international audiences and the enduring global interest in Test cricket."
Steve Crawley, Managing Director of Fox Sports said:
"It was a brilliant summer of cricket, reminiscent of some of the all-time classics.
"From massive Test debuts, exciting BBL centuries, and pure bowling brilliance, the cricketers delivered, and this returned in record audience for the Fox Cricket team.
"Congratulations to Cricket Australia and all the men's and women's players on a great summer season."
Chris Jones, Seven Network Director of Sport said:
"What this summer has shown us is that Australians absolutely love the cricket. The men's and women's Test Series, the Big Bash League and now Australia's tour of Sri Lanka have been THE sporting events of the 2024-25 summer and a testament to the great partnership between Cricket Australia and Seven.
"Australians witnessed a men's Test series for the ages, with so many moments and storylines that kept the whole country on the edge of their seat and glued to Seven and 7plus Sport. Congratulations to both teams for captivating the country and setting new records both on TV and at venue.
"Big Bash was a runaway hit on Seven over the summer. With the Renegades winning their first WBBL title and the Hurricanes taking their first BBL title, this summer delivered more epic moments and unbelievable storylines than ever before, and we were thrilled to deliver record-breaking audiences on Seven and 7plus Sport."
Sanjog Gupta, CEO Sports, Jio Star said:
"The coverage of BGT 2024-25 demonstrated our commitment to delivering a world class on-screen sporting experiences to millions of fans.
"From a brand-new design package to the advent of new cameras, we strived to provide a deeply immersive experience to sports fans.
"We are proud that our Hindi coverage garnered appreciation from the Indian diaspora across the world and are grateful to Cricket Australia for their trust and collaboration, which has been instrumental in bringing 'The Toughest Rivalry' alive in such a spectacular manner."
