MUMBAI: The 2022 edition of WWE’s biggest live event has delivered big for India host broadscaster Sony Sports.
WrestleMania 38 was seen by 56.1 million people in the country on the network, India.com reports, quoting figures released by BARC.
As per the website, total viewership of WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza, which took place on April 2nd and 3rd at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, was up by 29% year-on-year in India, compared with WrestleMania 37 in 2021.
Live viewership of WrestleMania Saturday – headlined by a No Holds Barred brawl between Kevin Owens and Stone Cold Steve Austin – was up 34% year-on-year, whilst WrestleMania Sunday – headlined by Universal Champion Roman Reigns pinning WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match – saw viewership up 33% year-on-year
The long-anticipated WWE RAW debut of India superstar Veer also saw a 9+% rise in viewership compared to the previous week’s average on April 4th.
WrestleMania 38 became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-attended event in company history. WWE’s mega event saw 156,352 fans from all across the US and 53 other countries converge at the AT&T Stadium over the course of two nights, surpassing the previous gate and attendance records set by WrestleMania 32 in 2016.
As per figures released by WWE, WrestleMania 38 beat Super Bowl LVI with 2.2 billion social media impressions vs. 1.8 billion impressions for the NFL. WWE won in video views with WrestleMania at 1.1 billion vs. Super Bowl at 618 million. WWE won in engagements with WrestleMania at 87 million vs. Super Bowl at 78 million. WWE won in video watch time with WrestleMania at 13.1 million hours vs. Super Bowl at 3.56 million hours.
Speaking ahead of the WrestleMania 38 weekend, Rajesh Kaul, chief revenue officer, Distribution and head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India, had stated: “WrestleMania has been the biggest LIVE event of WWE for nearly four decades now and has received immense love and support from followers across the globe. The fandom for WWE in India has been growing steadily over the years and it is our endeavor to provide viewers with the thrill and excitement of WWE coupled with unique experiences. For the first time, audiences in India will witness Wrestlemania Live, in four languages across three channels. We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that we provide unparalleled entertainment to engage our viewers for five days. The glorious event not only attracts fans but is also a haven for advertisers. We are happy to have sponsors on-board across the entertainment, communication, and FMCG sectors.”
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