COMSCORE’S latest study, Sports Highlights on Digital, 2025 – India Edition, reveals how rapidly India’s sports audience is evolving. The report examines how fans consume and interact with sports online, and what this shift means for the future of the industry.
Globally, digital sports content reached 668 million unique visitors, a 37 per cent audience reach. In India, 118 million people followed sports online, with nearly 90 per cent doing so via mobile devices, reinforcing India’s position as one of the world’s most mobile-first sports markets.
Cricbuzz leads the digital sports landscape with 53 million users, followed by Dream11 at 26.4 million and ESPN at 14.2 million. Across social platforms, Star Sports recorded the highest engagement, amassing 75.2 million total interactions, ahead of CricTracker and Sportskeeda Cricket.
Sports brands continue to command strong digital influence, generating 20 per cent of total social media engagement in India. Royal Challengers Bangalore tops the chart with an average of 540,000 interactions per post, followed by the IPL (321,000) and Chennai Super Kings (163,000). Athlete engagement is also surging, with Instagram interactions for Indian sportspersons rising 56 per cent in early 2025. Virat Kohli leads with 2.6 million actions per post, trailed by Hardik Pandya (1.9 million) and Rohit Sharma (1.6 million).
The report also highlights crossover behaviour among audiences: Indian sports fans are 25 per cent more likely to visit retail or financial platforms. An impressive 96 per cent accessed retail sites, while 91 per cent explored financial services, signalling strong potential for brands and advertisers.
Matchdays remain major digital accelerators. On 22 January 2025, during the India vs England T20 opener, Hotstar’s mobile traffic doubled to 27.4 million, with watch-time soaring 129 per cent. Subsequent fixtures mirrored this trend. Globally too, major tournaments continue to break records, with Wimbledon 2025 generating 226 million social media actions, its highest ever, marking a year-on-year increase of 36 million.
Comscore’s report concludes with three strategic imperatives for brands:
* Adopt a cross-platform approach.
* Decode fast-shifting audience behaviour.
* Treat social media as the primary arena for fan engagement.
