Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, announced a significant achievement, revealing that it has garnered over 59 billion minutes of total watch time during the initial 11 matches of the tournament on linear television. This marks a remarkable 22% growth in viewership compared to the previous edition of the tournament held in England.
The first 11 matches of the tournament included notable fixtures, such as the India vs. Australia clash, which is a five-time Champions match, and the contest against Afghanistan.
The broadcaster reported that the growth in viewership was particularly prominent among premium audiences. According to data from BARC India, audiences in the NCCS A category witnessed a growth of 40%, while NCCS B experienced a 24% increase in viewership.
Moreover, the live broadcasts of these initial matches have collectively attracted an impressive audience of 268 million viewers. This includes 96 million young working professionals aged 22-40, which is 5% higher than the viewership in the 2019 edition of the tournament. The peak live concurrency for the tournament was reached at 56 million viewers during the India vs. Australia match in Chennai on October 8.
In addition to linear television viewership, Star Sports’ digital platform, Disney+ Hotstar, experienced substantial concurrency, with more than 3.5 crore people tuning in during the high-profile India vs. Pakistan game in Ahmedabad. Data for other matches, including the India vs. Pakistan fixture, will be released in the upcoming week.
This viewership milestone is notable, especially given the recent trend of decreasing subscribers on Disney+ Hotstar over the past three quarters. This decrease in subscribers coincides with the growing competition in the streaming business, as Jio Cinema entered the arena and secured rights to stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2023 season.
It’s important to note that Disney+ Hotstar is offering free streaming of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 on mobile phones, while access on connected TVs remains behind a paywall. The platform’s strategic decisions regarding access and content rights will likely continue to shape its trajectory in the competitive streaming landscape.