April 18, 2024
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 hosted in India smashed broadcast and digital records across the world, making it the biggest World Cup ever.
The event, which saw Australia crowned champions for the sixth time, registered a record 1 trillion global live viewing minutes of broadcast, which included new technological innovations such as the vertical video feed, providing fans with an easier and more intuitive viewing experience on their mobile devices.
The global live viewing hours were an increase of 38% from the last edition of the tournament held in the Indian sub-continent, in 2011, and by 17% compared to 2019 when it was held in the United Kingdom.
The final between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the biggest cricket stadium in the world, became the most watched ICC match ever. There were 87.6 billion live viewing minutes globally, representing a 46% growth compared with the 2011 final that featured co-hosts India and Sri Lanka.
The event was carried by a total of 20 broadcast partners across 209 territories. For the first time, Hindi coverage was made available outside India by ESPN+, Fox Sports, Sky Sports and Willow TV.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said: “We are delighted to announce the record-breaking viewership and engagement numbers for the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, making it the biggest World Cup ever. The incredible numbers continue to show the increased appetite for ICC events across the world and the consumption of innovative and engaging content that fans can enjoy.”
The viewership numbers are staggering across territories, most notably in host country India, where it became the most watched Cricket World Cup ever, with 422 billion viewing minutes on the Disney Star Network alone, resulting in a whopping 54% increase from 2011 and a significant 9% rise from 2019.
The tournament was the most broadcast in India, about five times more hours of coverage compared to 2011, thanks to the 22 channels that showcased the tournament across nine different languages (English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada & Malayalam).
The female viewership share rose from 32% for the 2011 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to 34% this year, reflecting the universal excitement surrounding the country’s home tournament. The final between the hosts and Australia became the most watched Men’s Cricket World Cup match ever with a peak TV audience of 130 million, with a total of 300 million people watching it on the Disney Star network on linear alone in India.
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