The Business of The Ashes: Broadcast Deals, Sponsorships and Attendance Figures

Image: “Stumped Josh Hazlewood – The Ashes Trent Bridge” by Airwolfhound, originally uploaded to Wikimedia Commons; licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). commons.wikimedia.org

Since its inception 1882, The Ashes has seen just six tests finish inside two days.

The most recent, of course, being Australia’s 8-wicket win over England in Perth, featuring a Travis Head century as part of the first two-day test in 104 years.

On the first day of the second test, however, Joe Root replied with his own century in front of the Brisbane crowd, many of whom are hoping for their day three tickets to be of use this time round.

These tickets, that were eligible for refunds after the two-day test in Perth, were part of Cricket Australia’s thinking when they forecasted record financial growth for the year ahead. However, the two-day test is reported to have lost the organisation millions.

Up to AUD 3 million, to be precise, which is solely the money lost in ticket revenue for day three and four of the first test. Beyond ticket sales, broadcast deals and sponsorships are also vital revenue streams—but just how much is at stake?

Broadcast Deals

In the UK, cricket fans can tune in to watch the historic competition on TNT Sports, with Cricket Australia agreeing a short-term deal with the broadcaster for home cricket between 2025 and 2026.

As for Australia, The Ashes is available to watch on both subscription and free-to-air TV. Namely Foxtel and Seven Network, the broadcasters were awarded the rights by Cricket Australia to show cricket held in Australia from 2024 until 2031.

The deals between Cricket Australia and the two broadcasters are reportedly worth a combined AUD 1.5 billion, representing an increase of AUD 300 million from the 2018-2024 agreement. 

Overall, Cricket Australia’s media, broadcasting and marketing revenue increased from AUD 220 million to AUD 283.1 million over the 2024-25 financial year.

It’s no wonder such fees are at stake—during the last Ashes series in 2023, 17.8 million people in the UK tuned in to watch over the course of the series, including a peak audience of 2.1 million watching the opening day on Sky Sports. This year, Australia’s viewership peaked at 1.6 million on day two of the first test.

Sponsors and Partners

With so many eyes on The Ashes, brands of course see it as a major advertising opportunity. 

Currently, Cricket Australia has 18 commercial partners—all of whom contribute to the AUD 109.6 million in surplus from operations that the governing body reported for the 2024-25 financial year. These contributions vary in size, with Cricket Australia’s partners each falling into one of three levels of partnership: platinum, gold and silver.

Sitting at the top of the pyramid is Cricket Australia’s Principal Partner Westpac, who became the front-of-shirt sponsor after agreeing a four-year-deal worth AUD 40 million.

Toyota is an example of a platinum partner, with a deal of the same length worth AUD 12 million.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has 13 partners. One of which is the kit manufacturer, Castore, who landed a 10-year deal in 2021 valued at around £25 million, hinting at the financial pull that cricket can have, with The Ashes one of the biggest ways to showcase your brand.

Ticketing

Cricket Australia will see the two-day Test in Perth as a missed financial opportunity given the attendance figures expected. 101,514 fans attended the two days that were played, and day three had almost sold out. This included 51,531 on the first day—the largest ever attendance for a single day during a Test in the state of Western Australia.

During the 2023 edition in England, every day of the series sold out in advance, with total attendance reaching 545,000.

With these fans came a boost to local businesses, with hotels in Perth reaching a 98% occupancy rate and the Australian Hotels Association predicting a AUD 10 million spend across the hospitality and retail industries in the state. Included in these numbers are the tens of thousands of English fans who travel over for the competition, who, during the 2017-18 edition in Australia, were said to have spent up to AUD 10,000 each, providing a further boost to local economies.

As The Ashes gets well and truly underway after the shock of the first Test, millions around the world will be watching the action on the oval. Far fewer, however, will understand the complex business behind every ball and wicket, where the world of sponsorship deals and broadcast rights make it all happen. 

The current Ashes series will conclude in Sydney in January, in the same month and city that GIS will start teaching at our brand new Australian campus. Learn more about our programmes including the Master of International Sports Business and Master of Sports Analytics, available to study on-campus at GIS Sydney starting in January and August each year.

To delve deeper into the world of sports business, read more on our news page, and, if a career in the sports industry appeals to you, explore our course offerings to find the perfect programme to kickstart your journey.

Article by Zakaria Anani