3 minute read
WBBL organisers want to see every game televised in full in coming seasons as part of the next step in the tournament's growth.
Big Bash boss Alistair Dobson wants to see all WBBL games televised, aiming to take the next leap in the tournament's progression from as soon as next year.
The WBBL's evolution has continued every year since its inception in 2015/16 as a curtain raiser to the men to a stand-alone competition.
The introduction of prime-time finals was largely seen as a success this year, with more than one million tuning in for the three games.
Twenty-four matches were shown live this season on both Seven and Fox, compared to 23 last summer, while the live stream of 12 others were also simulcast on Fox.
Television audiences also remained steady at around 200,000 with the slight drop in averages due to the early wet weather in Sydney washing out two marquee matches.
But Dobson would like to get to the point where all 59 games are televised live and in full, with a return to a proper home-and-away season next year after the pandemic.
"I think it has to be an ambition of the WBBL to have one day all games on TV," Dobson told AAP.
"This year we had great growth with additional games on Foxtel.
"Continuing to grow the broadcast footprint is critical because it continues to link the competition for more and more fans.
"Whether it's next year or a medium-term ambition is working really close with our broadcasters and scheduling factors."
Such a move would likely see more prime-time matches, a slot that delivered an extra 107,000 viewers on average than day matches this summer.
If it does happen, it would easily make for the biggest women's sporting competition in the country to be fully televised.
Players this season were dealt the harshest COVID restrictions of any cricketers this summer, with Melbourne sides spending eight weeks in a largely locked-down Hub.
But Dobson pointed to the performance of young players as the biggest sign of growth in the competition.
Evidently, local players from outside the Australian squad cleared the rope one in every 49 balls this summer, just as often as national and overseas representatives.
That is in stark contrast to just four years ago, where the marquee players hit sixes every 69 balls compared to every 125 for the unheralded locals.
"Three or four years ago it was only a handful of players that people would talk about, whereas this year I reckon that has spread a lot wider," Dobson said.
