ICC T20 World Cup: India-England semifinal sets global digital viewership record with 65.2 million peak on JioHotstar
This figure marks the highest digital synchronicity recorded for any live event worldwide. India will face New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on March 8.
The previous digital simultaneity record was set by the Champions Cup 2025 final between India and New Zealand in Dubai, which reached the highest concurrent viewership of 61 million on JioHotstar.
Earlier, Disney+ Hotstar, now known as JioHotstar after its merger with JioCinema, had recorded the highest concurrent user base of 59 million during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final played between India and Australia on November 19, 2023. This had surpassed the previous record of 53 million recorded during the World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand on November 15, 2023. A peak of 53 million was recorded simultaneously in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
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Meanwhile, the first 49 matches of the tournament provided television access to a total of 275 million viewers across India, according to data released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council.
Matches involving India were the biggest driver of television viewership throughout the tournament. The match between India and Pakistan on February 15 recorded the highest ever television rating (TVR) of 6.63 in the India 2+ category. TVR refers to the percentage of target television viewers who watch a particular program at a particular time.
Among India’s group stage matches, the match against the USA recorded 3.45 TVR, while the matches against Namibia and the Netherlands scored 3.03 and 3.36 respectively.
Viewership increased further in the Super Eight stage; India’s match against South Africa recorded a TVR of 5.13, while the match against Zimbabwe recorded a draw of 4.66.
Games outside India recorded TVRs largely below 2 in the India 2+ category.
Television advertising rates for the tournament started at Rs 8.25 lakh for a 10-second advertisement for the entire event. The packages, which include India matches, knockouts and three non-India games bundled with each India match, are priced at Rs 10 lakh per 10 seconds.
For packages containing two non-India matches for each India match, the price has gone up to Rs 12.5 lakh at 10 seconds, while the package containing one non-India match for each India match has been priced at Rs 17 lakh at 10 seconds.
Mobile advertising for digital was priced at around Rs 250 CPM for a 10-second ad, while connected TV rates ranged from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh per 10 seconds.
Tournament broadcaster JioStar, which is airing the event on Star Sports and JioHotstar, is targeting over Rs 2,000 billion in advertising revenue from the tournament across television and digital platforms.
