TV Blackbox
THE Second Ashes Test in Brisbane delivered a stunning audience surge across television and streaming, with new figures from Cricket Australia, the Foxtel Group and the Seven Network confirming record-breaking engagement for the four-day day–night clash at the Gabba.
Australia’s commanding eight-wicket win – powered by standout performances from Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser and Jake Weatherald – translated into major ratings momentum, with multiple sessions hitting historic highs across broadcast and digital platforms.
Foxtel reported that Session 3 on Day 4 became the most-watched individual Test session ever across Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Foxtel Go, underscoring the strong appetite for day-night cricket.
The 2026 Ashes series is now on track to become the most-streamed Test series in Kayo’s history, with both the Perth and Brisbane matches delivering the platform’s highest average Test audiences. Across the Gabba Test alone, viewers streamed 329 million minutes on Kayo.
Free-to-air audiences also soared. Seven recorded its best-ever start to the Summer of Cricket, with the Gabba Test reaching 8.06 million viewers across Seven and 7plus Sport.
The network averaged 1.21 million nationally, up 6 per cent on the First Test and 36 per cent on last year’s equivalent Test against India. Digital consumption exploded, with 7plus Sport up 178 per cent year-on-year, led by a record 238,000 viewers for Day 4, Session 2.
Seven’s deeper ratings breakdown showed Day 4, Session 2 topping all key demographics – including 25-54s, 16-39s and grocery buyers – reaching 2.51 million viewers nationally and averaging 1.54 million.
Several sessions across the first three days also delivered strong double-digit year-on-year growth, reinforcing the value of prime-time cricket.
Cricket Australia’s own online metrics pointed to similarly high engagement.
