T20 World Cup 2022: India-Pakistan thriller creates new viewership record

Not
only
was
the
stadium
packed,
with
an
attendance
of
over
ninety
thousand,
the
match
expectedly
broke
viewership
records
yet
again.

India
vs
Pakistan:
Virat
Kohli
epic
leads
Men
in
Blue
to
4-wicket
win
in
T20
World
Cup
2022

With
the
country
lit
up
for
Diwali,
the
fireworks
fell
short
as
India
avenged
their
loss
against
Pakistan
exactly
a
year
ago
in
last
edition’s
T20
World
Cup.
The
Sunday
blockbuster
match
with
over
1.8
crore
viewers
glued
to
their
screens
for
the
India-Pakistan
match.
These
viewers
are
just
the
ones
who
were
watching
the
match
on
the
digital
streaming
platform,
Disney+
Hotstar.

The
match
was
also
live
telecast
on
television
by
official
broadcasters
Star
Sports
in
India.
But
the
viewership
numbers
will
be
released
only
a
week
later
by
the
television
audience
measurement
body
Broadcast
Audience
Research
Council
(BARC).

The
match
was
also
screened
on
theaters
of
PVR
and
Inox,
which
reported
large
visitors
enjoying
the
match
in
movie
halls.

Putting
aside
the
TV
viewership,
the
online
streaming
views
once
again
was
record-breaking.
On
the
Disney+
Hotstar
app,
which
is
the
official
streaming
partner
of
the
World
Cup,
it
was
the
highest-ever
viewership
at
1.8
crore,
beating
the
previous
record
of
1.4
crore
recorded
between
the
arch-rivals
at
the
Asia
Cup,
a
source
told
PTI.

T20
WC:
How
street
smart
Virat
Kohli
stirred
India
to
a
nerve-wracking
last
ball
win
against
Pakistan

From
the
onset
of
the
game,
when
the
first
ball
was
bowled
by
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar,
the
views
on
Disney+
Hotstar
were
36
lakh
live
views.
When
the
Pakistan
innings
came
to
an
end,
the
live
views
were
1.1
crore
on
the
app
and
this
increased
to
1.4
crore
viewers
during
the
innings
break.

When
India
started
the
chase,
the
total
number
of
live
viewers
were
40
lakh.
The
number
jumped
to
a
record-breaking
1.8
crore
when
Kohli
led
India
to
a
scintillating
win
over
Pakistan.

As
reported
in
PTI,
the
multiplex
operators
INoX
Leisure
and
PVR,
which
are
showing
the
matches
live
on
the
screens
of
their
cinema
halls
have
also
witnessed
phenomenal
responses
from
the
viewers.

INOX
Leisure
CEO
Alok
Tandon
told
PTI,
“The
response
that
we
got
for
this
match
across
all
the
90-plus
cinemas
across
the
country
has
been
phenomenal,
identical
to
a
blockbuster
movie.
The
electric
environment
in
the
auditoriums
was
much
like
what
someone
witnessed
in
the
stadiums.”

PVR
Joint
Managing
Director
Sanjeev
Kumar
Bijl
said
the
response
to
the
game
has
been
strong
at
PVR
cinemas.
“We
have
played
this
game
at
122
screens
in
51
cities
across
the
country
and
the
response
has
been
strong
all
over.
The
charm
and
excitement
of
watching
live
sports
on
a
big
screen
as
a
collective
experience
continues
to
gain
strength
in
India,”
he
said.

Karan
Taurani
SVP
of
Elara
capital
said
it
is
a
positive
trend
and
now
lots
of
sports
viewership
is
coming
on
digital
streaming.
Now
sports
have
emerged
as
important
for
the
video
consumption
market
and
every
platform
needs
some
kind
of
sports
as
lots
of
eyeballs
do
come
here.
“Tournaments
of
national
interest
and
India-Pakistan
matches
are
watched
with
a
lot
of
passion.
If
you
look
at
the
growth
in
terms
of
viewership
share
on
digital,
its
phenomenally
high,”
he
said.

However,
he
also
added
that
such
numbers
may
not
be
repeatable
as
the
match
was
nail-biting
and
went
up
to
the
last
ball
but
it’s
a
“positive
trend”
as
lots
of
viewership
is
coming
on
digital
platforms.
However,
he
also
added
that
the
viewership
of
traditional
media
such
as
TV
is
stable
and
has
no
decline
because
people
want
to
watch
live
content
on
TV
and
digital
as
per
their
convenience.

The
last
over
was
action-packed
as
India
secured
a
four-wicket
victory
on
the
very
last
ball,
with
an
emotion
Kohli’s
celebration
touching
everyone’s
hearts.
The
former
skipper
who
hammered
an
unbeaten
82
off
53,
picked
up
the
player-of-the-match
award.

India
will
next
take
on
Netherlands
on
Thursday
(Oct.
27).

Source:
With
inputs
from
PTI