Ashes 2013 ratings win delivers Channel 9 one over Network Ten Australia soaks up Ashes glory Triumphant captain Michael Clarke describes the Ashes romp over England as the 'pinnacle' of his career. PT1M43S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2zjqt 620 349 December 18, 2013 - 8:17AM What was Channel Ten thinking? It was a fool's errand to try and get Channel Nine give up its most valuable rating asset - the cricket. The third ranked commercial network's ambition to steal the cricket rights away from Nine takes on an even more daring complexion in the context of the Ashes TV ratings. The cricket has delivered ratings gold to Nine, who held onto the rights despite a fierce bidding war. Much like Seven's two-decade-old ownership of the 7pm timeslot with its flagship soap Home & Away, no network in its right mind lets ratings gold out of its grip. Nine's cricket coverage has drawn peak national audiences of up to 3 million viewers in the last week, including capital city and regional data. In an era more defined by falling numbers, those results are doubly formidable. The average daily audience - a more accurate figure in terms of measuring the larger chunk of the audience actually watching for most of the day - has been between two and two-and-a-half million viewers. Year-on-year it is delivering Nine a lift of more than 40 per cent on last year's Third Test, and a lift of almost 30 per cent on Ashes series of 2010. The results effectively validate Nine's formidable investment in the sport - a price tag of $450 million in cash and contra for television rights to international cricket which was signed off in June this year. Ten had made a $550 million bid for international and Twenty20 cricket as a job lot. They secured only the Twenty20 Big Bash League in a five year deal worth $20 million a year. Cricket Australia's app, Cricket Australia Live, has clocked more than 7.3 million visits and is on almost 600,000 devices. The app carries match stats, highlights and streaming video of Nine's coverage.