The Big Bash League will be reduced from 61 matches to 43 when Cricket Australia’s newly-announced broadcast deal with Foxtel and Channel 7 gets underway in 2024/25.
On Tuesday morning, CA confirmed a seven-year deal with the two broadcasters worth $1.512 billion, ensuring the home summer of cricket remains on Fox Sports through to 2031.
From the 14th edition of the BBL onwards, each team will play 10 regular season matches before a three-game finals series. All 43 matches will be shown on Fox Sports, while 33 games will be broadcast on Channel 7.
Several players have voiced their frustration with the tournament length since the Big Bash was expanded to 61 matches in 2018, including Melbourne Stars captain Glenn Maxwell, Adelaide Strikers pinch-hitter Chris Lynn and the late Shane Warne.
The Big Bash ran for nearly two months in 2018/19, finishing several weeks after kids had returned to school.
The competition’s expansion coincided with a decline in crowd numbers, while overseas talent was reluctant to commit to the entire tournament.
“I think the length of the tournament when it was 10 games, I think we all really enjoyed that. I think it was the perfect amount,” Maxwell said in 2020.
“I just think 14 games is just a little bit much. It just makes for a very long tournament and probably goes for a touch too long.”
The reduced BBL allows for increased player availability, both domestically and internationally. During home summers not impacted by ICC events, Australian Test players won’t have international commitments following the New Year’s fixture in Sydney, creating a window for them to play Big Bash cricket.
Meanwhile, because there will be less overlap with rival T20 domestic tournaments, including the newly-formed SA20 in South Africa and ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates, international players will be available for a larger portion of the competition.
The Big Bash League will also be able to schedule more matches during prime time slots in the school holidays, with fewer early afternoon games.
Only four teams will progress through to the three-match finals series under the new competition format, placing greater emphasis on the regular season.
“We’ve been listening to the fans, we’ve been listening to the players,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley told reporters at the SCG on Tuesday.
“It’s a fantastic result for the fans and a fantastic result for the players.
“What this allows us to do is tighten it up a little bit. It means we can get the best players in. It sits really nicely against our new Future Tours Program.
“It allows us to tighten it into the school holidays, so starting at around the middle of December through to just before the end of January. It does reduce that overlap with future tours of other countries and other competitions.”
