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Logie success for TEN's BBL coverage

Network Ten claims coveted Logie Award for 'Most Outstanding Sports Coverage' for Big Bash broadcast

A record-breaking KFC Big Bash League season was capped off in style on Sunday night, with Network Ten awarded a Logie Award for its coverage of the tournament.

Network Ten’s coverage of BBL|05 beat other nominated events including Australia’s most famous horse race, the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Open tennis grand slam and the National Rugby League’s grand final to claim the Logie for 'Most Outstanding Sports Coverage'.

The Logie Awards are Australia's most prestigious television awards, with Network Ten's Big Bash League coverage voted for by a jury comprising members of the Australian TV industry.

Image Id: ~/media/6676486D0A724B5BAD7536AB60997EE4 Image Caption: Logie winners: Adam Gilchrist and David Barham // Getty

Network Ten’s coverage of the tournament has proved a hit with viewers, led by a star-studded commentary team featuring former Australia Test players Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh and Damien Fleming, former Southern Stars Mel Jones and Lisa Sthalekar, former England star Andrew Flintoff and experienced broadcasters Mark Howard and Andy Maher.

Englishman Flintoff was seemingly blissfully unaware of the victory - or indeed what a Logie Award is - when told of the win.

The Logie Award honour comes just days after it was revealed the Big Bash League had overtaken Australian Rules Football and the National Rugby League to be Australia’s best-rating sports competition.

Boasting a national average audience of 1.1 million viewers on Network Ten, the BBL has soared above the Australian Football League and National Rugby League, who average 804,000 and 887,600 per match on free-to-air television respectively.

For the first time, cricket is Australia’s highest-rating sport, averaging more than a million nationally across all the major formats — including Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 Internationals broadcast on the Nine Network, and the BBL on Network Ten.

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"It’s amazing. From our point of view it’s extremely pleasing,” Network Ten head of sport David Barham told News Ltd last week.

"As the AFL coaches all say, you just concentrate on the process and don’t worry about the result and I think that’s what we’ve done.

"It’s a great credit to our commentary team and it’s just a combination thing between good TV production, solid marketing and a great sporting body working with us. It’s made a massive difference.”

WATCH: Channel 10's Top Ten moments of BBL|05

Sydney Thunder’s triumph over Melbourne Stars in the BBL final claimed the highest ratings for BBL|06, with 1.79 million tuning in to see Mike Hussey’s men claim their first title.

The viewership figures are sure to set up a fierce contest the next time the BBL broadcast rights are up for negotiation ahead of the 2018-19 season.

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