The Indian Premier League recorded a viewership of 350 million in its first ten matches, which is higher than any previous edition of the tournament, the event’s official broadcaster asserted on Thursday.
The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data released by Disney Star reveals that the overall watch-time for the tournament has skyrocketed to 8,028 crore minutes (80.28 billion minutes), which is a remarkable 20% increase compared to the previous year.
“We are overwhelmed with the record-breaking viewing figures for TATA IPL 2024. Disney Star has started the 17th season from where it left off last year, doubling down on fan-centred initiatives that seek to drive passion and fandom for the tournament,” Sanjog Gupta, head of Sports at Disney Star was quoted as stating in a press release.
Disney Star is broadcasting IPL across 14 feeds in 10 languages with a special feed in Indian Sign Language for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Visually Impaired fans.
Per data released by the broadcaster, the tournament had opened to blockbuster viewership numbers with 168m tuning in to watch the season’s first game between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 22.
Disney Star said the opening day also registered a watch-time of 12.76 billion minutes – the highest-ever for the first day of any season. The watch-time minutes, which represent the projected cumulative time spent by each viewer watching the game, serve as a crucial metric for gauging the engagement and popularity of the tournament.
