Delhi: When Ashes is mentioned, it is first introduced as the most famous match of cricket. These days, in the world of cricket, despite Team India playing international cricket, the most talked about series is the Ashes. The Ashes series is not just cricket, the Ashes is also a business. The series between England and Australia in the Test calendar is as much sporting drama as it is commercial.

In an era when money in cricket has become a franchise T20 league, the Ashes has made itself the only series in which neither fans are less nor the demand for tickets is less. This is a series which gives an opportunity to the boards of both the teams for new broadcast partnerships and sponsorship contracts.

Australia have held the Ashes since the 2017/18 series and are strong contenders to retain it this time too, while England are looking for their first win in Australia in 14 years. Australia has won the first test in Perth and there are 4 more tests. Overall, the schedule consists of 48 days and 25 days of Test cricket in it and this is not an easy schedule.

Ashes ticket sales set new records

Even though there was a lot of talk before the series about the hope of England winning, the expectation of a tougher match than in previous years increased the demand for tickets tremendously. A total of 311066 tickets were sold on the first day of pre-sale in June, breaking the previous record of 111741 in 2017/18. According to the official release of Cricket Australia, this is a new record. More than India’s Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. More than ticket sales for pop star Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour in Sydney and Melbourne in February 2024. Then 620000 fans watched 7 shows.

Earnings increased from Perth stadium and broadcast deal

The first Test played at the Optus Stadium (now renamed Perth Stadium), built at a cost of 1.6 billion Australian dollars (about Rs 9525 crore) in Perth, was the first Ashes Test at the stadium since its official opening in 2018. The Ashes series was started from this stadium only for the commercial success of the series. Pay-TV network Foxtel and free-to-air broadcaster Seven hold the broadcast rights. Both of them had signed a contract worth 1.512 billion Australian dollars (about Rs 9000 crore) in partnership with Cricket Australia in 2023, which will last till the summer of 2030/31.

England and Australia’s Ashes broadcast deal

England was left behind in this matter because there TNT Sports acquired the rights for its linear channels and Discovery+ streaming platform. This is the third consecutive Ashes series broadcast by TNT in Australia. He was the broadcaster of the England tour in 2017/18 and 2021/22 under its previous name of BT Sport. The rights to the Ashes are sold by the domestic cricket board and, in the case of the current series, it is Cricket Australia. Even in England, more money could have been earned from broadcast, but the truth is that those Sky Sports who could have paid more money did not enter the market. They have not broadcast any Ashes series played in Australia since 2013/14.

The Australian team entered the Ashes with a new front-of-shirt sponsor. He made Westpac Bank his principal partner. His contract with Cricket Australia is worth 40 million Australian dollars (about Rs 239 crore). On the other hand, before the Ashes, the England and Wales Cricket Board made Toyota its new principal partner and front-of-shirt sponsor in place of Cinch. The ICC began allowing front-of-shirt sponsorships for Test teams in 2020, to help domestic cricket boards recover from losses incurred during Covid.

Sponsorship race between England and Australia

Asics is the kit sponsor of Cricket Australia till 2028, while Castor is the kit supplier of the England team from 2022. This is a 10-year contract worth 25 million pounds (about Rs 300 crore). Many other sponsor partners are associated with Cricket Australia for the Ashes. The Englishmen were also able to get new contracts to some extent. Australia’s largest energy supplier, Origin Energy, has signed a three-year, multi-million-dollar deal to be on the shirts of the Test team this Ashes summer. Cricket Australia did not get a new sponsor for two years after Alinta’s contract ended, but the contract was signed immediately before the Ashes.

Cricket Australia’s earnings increased from 2023/24 due to the new domestic media contract and earnings from the 5 Test series against India. The problem was that despite this there was a net loss. Taking a lesson from all these figures, England has already started preparations for the next Ashes to be played in England. Similarly, the series whose broadcast rights are bought the most in the country, apart from these two playing teams, is the Ashes.