BBC: Record numbers for the Ashes
August 9, 2023
Millions turned to the BBC this summer to follow the Ashes via Test Match Special (TMS), daily television highlights on Today at the Test, social clips and dedicated pages across the BBC Sport website and app.
There were 27.3 million listening requests from audiences tuning into TMS on BBC Sounds or the BBC Sport site, a significant increase on the 2019 series in England which had 14.7 million total online listening requests. In addition, there were over a million overseas stream requests of TMS on the BBC Sport YouTube.
The biggest day of the whole series was the fifth day of the first test at Edgbaston with over 1.7 million listening requests. There were over 1.2 million listening requests for the women’s Ashes, representing continued growth in the game.
Audiences flocked to the BBC Sport website with nearly 500 million page views for the men’s and women’s Ashes across both series, nearly 60 million video views and 194 million views on social platforms in the UK. Video views of the 2023 Ashes were 60 per cent higher than the 34.8 million received in 2019.
Today at the Test on BBC Two, BBC Four and iPlayer had a total TV reach of 8.3 million, the highest overnight of 2 million on BBC Two coincided with the final day of the fifth test of the men’s Ashes at the Oval.
Barbara Slater, Director BBC Sport, commented: “Whether it was via BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website, social or BBC TV and iPlayer, we provided more ways than ever for audiences to keep up the with all the Ashes action this summer. Both the men’s and women’s series provided edge of the seat moments and these impressive figures demonstrate how we are using different BBC platforms to bring audiences the biggest sporting moments wherever they are.”