MUMBAI: The recently concluded Asian Games reached 85 million viewers over the 16 days (August 18 – September 2) the pan-Asian multi-sport mega event ran in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang, as per data shared by official broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).
The numbers, provided by TV viewership measurement agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), represent viewers across rural and urban India above two years of age across the SPN Sports Network, including Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN.
The top 5 markets in terms of sampling:
Maharashtra/Goa – 12.8 mn
TN/Pondicherry – 8 mn
AP/Telangana – 7.8 mn
Karnataka- 7 mn
West Bengal-6.8 mn
In comparison with the viewership of 2016 Rio Olympics and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games earlier this year, Asian Games fall in the middle at 118 million reach.
While Rio Olympics were sampled by 201 million Indians, Commonwealth Games clocked 88.4 million viewers. Both these numbers are for live coverage and include Doordarshan’s sports channel DD Sports.
The 18th Asian Games saw India’s best ever medal tally, with 69 medals compared to 57 and 65 in 2014 (Incheon) and 2010 (Guangzhou), respectively. All told, India’s athletes took home 15 Gold, 24 Silver and 30 Bronze medals.
