BBL reduced to 43 matches as Cricket Australia clinch new domestic broadcast deal

The current 61-game season will be trimmed to 43 from BBL|14, while Channel Seven have dropped the legal action taken against the governing body

Nick Howson | 03/01/2023 at 10:19

The Big Bash League will be cut to 43 matches from 2024/25 under the terms of a new domestic broadcast agreement clinched by Cricket Australia.

Channel Seven and Foxtel have agreed to a $1.51 billion (£849,000) renewal for the period between mid-2024 and 2031.

Furthermore, the legal action taken by Seven against CA relating to the pandemic-affected BBL seasons has been withdrawn.

"There's no doubt our relationship has been tested and there's nothing left unsaid I can assure you," said Seven's head of network sport Lewis Martin.

"We've had our issues with Cricket Australia and we've reset. They were challenging times, no doubt about it.

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^{Men's Tests and women's internationals remain free to air (Daniel Carson/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )}

"One of the key things that kept us constant was that we were united in both the love and for the ambition to grow the game. That was critical and that's why we are all standing here today."

The headline development sees the number of BBL matches, which stands at 61 for the ongoing 12th edition of the competition, reduced by 18 from BBL|14.

It is hoped the new structure, which also sees the Finals limited to three games, can be completed within the summer holidays and can attract regular buy-in from Australia's star names and big-name internationals.

Additionally, there is also a financial benefit to the revamped format, with the deal up $19 million (£10.69m) per year from 2018.

Not since 2017/18 has the BBL season stood at 43 matches. That year, teams played 10 regular-season games before a three-game finals stage.

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^{CA hope the new deal will convince the likes of Mitchell Starc, who hasn't played since 2014/15, to commit on a regular basis (Matt King/Getty Images)}

Seven and Foxtel have committed to showing all men's Tests and women's internationals, while the new agreement also includes 33 BBL matches and 23 in the WBBL, which has stood at 59 games since 2019/20.

Foxtel and Kayo, who will carry every game from men's and women's internationals and Big Bash cricket, have men's white-ball matches and 10 BBL matches on an exclusive basis.

CA chief executive Nick Hockley said: "We've been listening to the fans, listening to the players, we are seeing it this season with the BBL, it's primetime nights in the heart of the summer holidays and what this allows us to do is tighten things up

"It allows us to get the best players in, it sits really nicely next to our new future tours programme."