MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 may be proving a damp squib for the Star Network in the wake of the Team India flop show, but the host broadcaster of the event had registered a cumulative reach of 238* million till last week (qualifiers + first 12 games of Super 12 stage).
Overall consumption in the opening stage, dominated by the high-octane India-Pakistan encounter, reached 47 billion minutes (qualifiers + first 12 games of Super 12 stage).
With a reach of 167 million*, the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash on October 24th, an event that saw the arch-rivals meet at an ICC tournament after two years, is now the most viewed T20I match, exceeding the previous high–India-West Indies 2016 ICC World T20 semi-finals.
“The India-Pakistan match has created history by clocking a record reach of 167 million viewers, making it the most viewed T20I match till date. We have continually strived to grow the audience base for marquee cricket and this record is a testament to our efforts across high-decibel campaigns, enhanced storytelling, dedicated regional programming, and consumer innovations. There’s no doubt that the result of the match and India’s exit from the tournament disappointed fans but the record viewership displays the unique power of cricket to engage audiences at an unprecedented scale,” said a Star India spokesperson.
The T20 World Cup began with the ‘Live the Game’ campaign anthem, created by Star Sports in association with ICC. Highlighting cricket as a sport that transcends boundaries, with fans across the globe, the campaign captured the attention and infused joy, and togetherness with the fiercest competition. Captivating and building on the hype of the marquee tournament, the broadcaster announced a complete revamp of design and technology and the debut of industry-first broadcast innovations ahead of the Super 12 stage.
*Source: BARC. Fig. at 2+U+R, Live match only, on Star network
