Sky Sports reports records broken for the opening Test of the 2023 Ashes
The opening game of the 2023 men’s Ashes series brought Sky Sports its highest ever viewing figures for a Test match, with a peak of 2.12 million viewers at home.
An average audience of 1.17 million tuned in on day five, with a combined average of 877,000 across all five days of the Edgbaston classic, beating the famous final Test in 2009 which had 717,000 viewers.
The peak audience of 2.12 million came on day five when viewers saw Australia snatch a two-wicket victory over Ben Stokes’ side on a the closely contested final day.
Across Sky Sports’ digital platforms the Sky Sports App had 11.7 million page views versus 1.5 million at the 2019 Ashes, with skysports.com recording 3.9 million page views versus 2.7 million in 2019. Digital streaming of the action saw 1.8 million views, and there were more than 20 million views of Ashes content across its social channels. This shows how fans are consuming content across multiple Sky Sports’ digital and social media channels and demonstrating significant growth in fan engagement with cricket content.
The recordbreaking figures come following a period of significant momentum in the build up to this series, as fans look forward to a new era of England’s approach to play.
Sky Sports’ managing director, Jonathan Licht, said: “Great to see such a thrilling start to the Ashes series, and to see that millions of fans are enjoying cricket content across the board. Equally we’re delighted to see so many young fans engage across so many of our digital channels. We have a fantastic opportunity with both the Men’s and Women’s sides who are playing some of the most entertaining cricket in recent memory, and our Sky Sports teams will continue to deliver all of the action throughout the series, via our exclusive coverage and unparalleled commentary team.
“The Women’s Test gets underway [on 22 June] at Trent Bridge, where we are set and excited to see fans get behind England’s campaign against a fierce Australian team. As the long-term broadcast partner with England Cricket, we are proud to tell the Ashes story and continue to support the growth of both the men’s and women’s game this series and beyond.”
Tony Singh, chief commercial officer at the ECB, said: “This first Men’s Test kept us all on the edge of our seats and showed the thrills of Test cricket at its best. It’s great to see the excitement it’s generated across the country, whether it was the sell-out crowds inside Edgbaston or the millions watching on TV, online or listening. With Sky’s coverage consistently world-beating it’s no wonder it’s made a recordbreaking start to the series, and with the Metro Bank Women’s Ashes beginning [Thursday 22 June], and another four Men’s Tests to come, there is a massive summer of cricket still to come.”
Stokes and Pat Cummins’ sides delivered one of the most entertaining and undoubtably iconic opening Test battles in Ashes history, setting up an exciting series for fans to continue to follow. The series continues this week, with all Men’s and Women’s fixtures live exclusively on Sky Sports and Now.