Record 518 million Indian viewers watched cricket World Cup on TV: Disney

A record 518 million Indian viewers watched the recently concluded men's cricket World Cup matches on Walt Disney-owned television channels during the 48-day event, the entertainment firm said on Thursday.

Disney had bought digital and streaming rights to show the International Cricket Council's tournaments in India from 2024 to 2027 by paying around $3 billion.

Its Hotstar streaming app set a concurrent viewership record of 59 million during the final match of the World Cup, the company said in a statement.

The numbers offer some relief for the Burbank-headquartered entertainment giant's India unit, which is exploring options of finding a joint venture partner or selling its business.

It has offered free streaming of World Cup cricket on smartphones in India, part of a strategy to boost advertising revenue and offset the impact of a subscriber exodus.

With this, it has surpassed the peak concurrency of 5.2 crore viewership recorded in the India - New Zealand semifinal match.

The India versus Pakistan league match of the tournament last month had recorded peak currency of 3.5 crore.

Disney+ Hotstar India Head Sajith Sivanandan said, "With a staggering 5.9 crore concurrent viewers tuning in on Disney+ Hotstar for the final ... higher than any peak concurrency record set before the tournamentthe unwavering support of Indian cricket fans has consistently propelled us to new heights in live sports streaming." Disney Star has exclusive broadcast and media rights for both linear and digital platforms.
 

The India-Australia final match was also screened by leading multiplex operator PVR INOX at 150 cinemas in over 60 cities comprising major metros, Tier-1, 2 and 3 cities with over 70,000 cricket fans watching the match when it started translating to over 70 per cent occupancy, PVR INOX Ltd Executive Director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli said.