Cricket Australia will consider shortening the men's Big Bash League back to 10 rounds as one of several options to help revitalise the competition.
Officials were still collating exact ratings figures on Tuesday, but average numbers are expected to show a steady decline in viewers even after streaming figures are revealed.
Crowds were also down, and while that was largely due to COVID-19, officials are well aware that has only exposed cracks and work must be done.
CA took solace from being able to complete the competition within the tournament window despite several outbreaks.
But a significant review of the competition's structure will now take place, with feedback likely from broadcasters Fox Sports and the Seven Network.
The length of the full home-and-away season has long been a point of contention, with numbers on a downward trend since the increase from 40 regular season games to 56 in 2018-19.
The longer-running season has often been blamed for not attracting the best overseas talent as well as games outside the school holiday window and clashing with Tests.
It's believed CA would consider shortening the season if they thought it could turn each match into bigger events with a return to sell-out crowds and better on-field talent.
Any change would need to be made in conjunction with broadcasters and with consideration of financial flow-on effects, with the current TV deal running through to 2023-24.
"One of the silver linings of COVID is it has given us better opportunities for changes," BBL boss Alistair Dobson told AAP.
"Everyone is of the mindset that we have to bounce back bigger.
"We review the season every year and the scheduling is probably our biggest process every year.
"The shape of the season. Where and when our games are played. We will have a really close look at it ahead of next season.
"We are in consultation with our key partners about what the best looking BBL is."
Another left-field option would be to expand the competition to 10 teams, allowing for growth into extra markets.
It would allow for the amount of rounds to still be reduced to 10 and the overall length to be shortened with more scheduling options while still keeping a similar amount of overall matches.
Any such additions would not be likely until 2023-24, but could create spots for more internationals and give more meaning to matches with top-five finals series.
"It's hard to know what the future will look like in a constantly evolving BBL," Dobson said.
"The BBL is currently made up of eight really strong and passionate clubs.
"We work really closely with all our clubs on making them as strong as they can be. That is our priority."
Meanwhile moves could be made to ensure all CA contract players are on BBL lists, in a bid to avoid a repeat of last week's Steve Smith fiasco.
However there are hurdles around the salary cap, players already on longer-term deals and equity across clubs.
An overseas player draft and DRS are also likely next summer, with a bigger focus on match-day experience for crowds out of the pandemic.
