Cricket Australia have been hit with falling numbers in the stands and in living rooms around the country with TV ratings also down for the home-and-away rounds of this season's Big Bash League.

Designed to maintain interest throughout the tournament after complaints 12 months ago the competition dragged on, this season's condensed BBL schedule has not had more fans tuning into the game, despite it being the only top-level cricket available in this country since the Sydney Test.

TV ratings and crowd numbers are down for this season's Big Bash League. Credit:Getty Images

As reported last week, average crowds fell for a third consecutive season, though some strong turnouts across the Australia Day long weekend limited the drop to about seven per cent, according to numbers compiled by the Austadiums website.

Accordingly, aggregate crowds fell in BBL09 as for the first time since 2016/17 there was no increase in regular-season games.