Cricket, along with rugby, has always been a very popular sport in Australia. It continues to gain in popularity each and every year. In fact, in the next four-year cycle the sport is expected to reach A$1.08 billion in revenue. That is an incredible amount but comparing it to the current A$684 million makes it even more astonishing. All of this equates to about a 63% growth in revenue over the next four years.
As a side note, the estimates are always done on four-year cycles because so much of the annual revenue is dependent on which national teams come to make a tour of Australia. A match against England would naturally generate more revenue than a match against many of the other nations in the world. The betting on games like this also increases, such is the excitement behind big matches such as this.
Growth without Stellar Performance
What’s even more compelling is that the country is experiencing this revenue growth even with rather lacklustre performances. The team has struggled in recent matches against England, but the popularity has not diminished one bit. Most people believe that it should not take long for the team to turn it around though.
So how has Cricket Australia been so successful on the revenue side? Well, one way they have done this is that they have been very successful at managing their broadcasting rights. Nearly two thirds of the projected revenue is now coming from the revenues generated from the broadcasting rights that were sold.
More and more Australians are tuning into the cricket matches so that number will surely go up the next time the broadcasting rights are up for negotiation. If Cricket Australia can just get back to their winning ways, there is no telling how much they can grow the brand. Worldwide broadcasting would be the next giant leap in terms of potential revenue generation for Cricket Australia.