The recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 created a viewership record globally. The tournament marked its return after five years, it offered nearly 10,000 hours of live coverage across TV and streaming platforms in 200 countries. A hike in the viewership was witnessed in India, Pakistan, UK, Australia and the strategic market of the USA.
The marquee T20 international event was enjoyed by the fans and followers of the sport throughout the globe. The high octane India vs Pakistan fixture, which took place on October 24 in Dubai gathered a viewership of 167 million on television and record consumption of 15.9 billion units on Star India. The game of cricket where the arch-rivals met after two years has become the most viewed T20I match of all time. It broke the previous record that was set in the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final that was played between India and West Indies. Despite India’s early exit, the overall TV consumption for the entire competition was recorded at 112 billion minutes in India.
Along with the TV, the digital consumption in India also saw immense growth on Disney+Hotstar, which significantly added to the overall TV viewership.
The India vs Pakistan fixture in the UK saw a growth of 60% on Sky UK, the overall viewership for the market also went up by 7%.
PTV, ARY and Ten Sports were the three broadcasters of the tournament in Pakistan. The viewership increased by 7.3% compared to the previous edition, which took place in 2016.
The newly appointed ICC CEO, Geoff Allardice said: “We are pleased with these outstanding global viewership numbers, that demonstrate the power of T20I cricket to attract a huge audience across the globe on linear and digital platforms. It reinforces our belief that there is a significant opportunity and appetite to grow the game in our strategic growth markets including the USA, so more fans can enjoy it, more kids are inspired by it and sponsors and broadcasters want to be a part of it.”