The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 continues to redefine world-renowned standards in sports, media, and streaming, with the India vs England semi-final on March 5 breaking a new global record in digital viewing.
During the high-stakes game, India’s premier streaming provider JioHotstar registered an astounding 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, breaking the global record for the largest concurrency ever attained for a live event across any digital platform. The match also received 619 million views on JioHotstar, making it the most-streamed T20 International match in history.
The enthralling battle, which generated an incredible 499 runs in both innings, captivated spectators across India and beyond. The high concurrency broke the previous global record of 65 million set by an international streaming platform in November 2024, which was obtained through aggregated viewership from numerous regions. JioHotstar’s success, on the other hand, was solely driven by viewers in a single market, highlighting the company’s position as a worldwide leader in live streaming and its capacity to handle peak demand while providing a flawless watching experience. This record also demonstrates the aggregative capacity that a flagship ICC event provides, bolstered by the popularity of the Indian team, the setting of a “must win” semi-final, and expanded fan interaction efforts.
The semi-final had a combined reach of over 320 million people across linear and digital channels, with watch-time across screens totalling an incredible 23 billion minutes, making it the most-watched T20I event ever.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah, said, “It is incredibly heartening to see the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup bringing together hundreds of millions of Cricket fans in India. The remarkable numbers recorded during the India vs England semi-final demonstrate not only the passion of cricket fans but also the tremendous progress being made in making the game more accessible and engaging for audiences everywhere. This World Cup will be remembered as much for its on- field play as it will be for the way millions of fans came together to celebrate the sport.”
JioStar Vice-Chairman Uday Shankar, said, “This is testimony to JioStar’s technological and creative excellence and ICC’s commitment to making the game of cricket even bigger. One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final game on Thursday and when hundreds of millions of people tune in to watch the game, it takes the best of technology to deliver. This is what the future of entertainment is going to look like.”
The 619 million views registered during the game surpassed the 533 million views recorded at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final, thanks to outstanding performances from both sides.
With the final still to be played, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has already set several records for reach and engagement across digital and broadcast platforms.
India will meet New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Final on March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Fans can watch all of the action live on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.
