The KFC Big Bash League (BBL) is setting itself apart from leading professional cricket leagues around the world. The Australian-based BBL may trail the Indian Premier League (IPL) in overall attendance and profit, but the BBL has positioned itself as the leader in creating and selling a cricket-entertainment experience that draws families to attend games.
Last season, Big Bash was among the top 10 sports leagues in the world with an average of 29,000 attendees after 35 games compared to IPL’s average attendance of 32,800 in 60 games. Half-way through this BBL season, average attendance is almost 30,000.
Now an Australian summer attraction, the BBL is in its sixth season. Last year, Cricket Australia launched a women’s edition of the tournament – the Rebel Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Each WBBL team is aligned with a BBL team, using the same team name, color uniform, website, and other resources.
The Big Bash website integrates the men and women’s content brilliantly and beautifully. The impact is two-fold – the seamless co-branding makes the men and women’s competitions feel familial and strengthens the overall Big Bash brand, and the bundled package thrusts the women’s game into the spotlight like no other cricket entity has been able to do.
The Big Bash brand gets it. For far too long, cricket has been a niche sport, relying solely on traditional fans’ pure love for the game while neglecting innovations to attract new fans. Big Bash is humanizing the cricket experience, connecting with everyday families, and convincing them that this tournament is a must-have summer experience.
Each Big Bash team sells affordably-priced membership packages for individuals and families which include priority seating, cricket clinics for kids with their favorite players, exclusive fan appreciation events, inside tours, and more.
The fact that merchandising as a revenue stream has not yet been exploited fully by most cricket leagues, clubs and governing bodies worldwide, is mind-boggling. In 2014, the four major US sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) generated $698 million in royalty revenue from $12.8 billion in merchandise sales.
Yet, cricket leagues around the world do not sell replica match jerseys online, for virtually any top player in the world. Imagine if authentic Virat Kohli or Sachin Tendulkar cricket match jerseys were available to the more than 1.3 billion Indians worldwide.
Big Bash is not leaving that stone unturned. Fans can purchase authentic Big Bash team jerseys online with the option of adding players’ names and numbers, or personalizing them with their own names and numbers.
Every activity of Big Bash is strategic. Engaging teams and players with the community, providing a blockbuster entertainment package, collecting data through membership packages among other activities, all build massive brand equity and a truly sustainable future for the competition.
Each year the BBL continues to move the needle for the sport. From introducing the first women’s professional cricket league last year to being the first to hang JumboTrons in a cricket stadium, and crossing over to the US market this year via live TV broadcasting of key games on NBC Sports, Big Bash is leading the way in innovating for cricket.
Artist rendition of JumboTrons in the Etihad Stadium.