MUMBAI: Indian Premier League 2020 saw 405 million viewers tuning in, and crossed the 400-billion miletsone in total viewing minutes, data released by Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) indicates.
In terms of total viewing minutes, this is a 23% growth over IPL 2019, which recorded 326 billion viewing minutes on TV, Moneycontrol reports, quoting from the BARC data points.
According to the report, the previous record in terms of highest viewership recorded by a sporting league was held by last year’s ICC World Cup, which garnered 344 billion viewing minutes.
The average time spent per match for the 13th season of the IPL has increased by 15%, with viewers spending over 42 minutes watching the IPL this season versus 37 minutes in season 12. Additionally, female viewership in this year’s IPL has grown 33% as compared to last season.
Along with TV, over the top (OTT) platform Disney+Hotstar which was streaming the IPL, saw the league grabbing attention of online viewers, the financial website further reports.
An ICICI Securities report notes that Disney+ Hotstar saw a 99% week-on-week rise in its user base in the opening week and the IPL was likely the driver for this growth.
