ESPN STAR Sports, the official broadcaster of Hero Hockey India League (HHIL), has said that in its first week itself, the league reached to over 14.6 million viewers.
As per the broadcaster, the viewership for HHIL is much better than foot ball. It is 1.7 times UEFA EURO 2012 reach for the first 6 matches and 24 times the average weekly reach of I-league.
Interestingly, within first week, HHIL has overtaken full tournament reach of recently concluded 2012 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy. It also had more than double viewers what World Series Hockey delivered in the first week last year.
World Series hockey at the end of week 1 had clocked a reach of 6.3 million individuals. Full tournament reach of recently concluded 2012 Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy, where India made the semis, was 5.8 million individuals.
Aloke Malik, Managing Director, ESPN Software India, said, “We are absolutely delighted. Reach garnered by the broadcast of Hero Hockey India League in the first week vindicates the confidence we had in this tourney.”