THE Big Bash League scored a big ratings win, smashing the Australian Open tennis for six on Sunday night.
Figures released yesterday showed 851,000 viewers watched Aussie Daria Gavrilova's fourth round match - 53 per cent fewer than saw Mike Hussey's fairytale farewell for Sydney Thunder at the MCG. 
Channel 10 recorded 1.3 million metropolitan viewers nationally as the sports went head-to-head for the last time this summer.
The disparity emphasised the arrival of the Big Bash on the sporting calendar. The spike in BBL interest is set to net Cricket Australia a huge cash windfall with the next broadcast rights deal tipped to triple in price.
Channel 10 forked out just $20 million per season for a five-year contract, which expires after the 2017-18 summer.
Big Bash boss Anthony Everard said the BBL was the equivalent of screening 35 nights of Friday night football in 39 days.Channel 10 said 1.79 million people tuned into the cricket across the country, an increase of 17 per cent from last summer's thrilling final.