Image Credit- Getty
The ICC and its broadcast partners Disney Star report
that the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup in India has shattered records in terms of
both in-stadium attendance and broadcast viewership.
The 48 games at the Indian grounds drew a total of
1,250,307 spectators, according to the ICC, breaking the previous record of
1,016,420 set in Australia and New Zealand during the 2015 World Cup. With
752,000 spectators, England’s World Cup 2019 ranks third.
Disney Star said that 518 million Indians watched the
World Cup on linear television over the course of the six-week competition,
bringing the total number of viewers in India to over half a billion. Data from
the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) indicates that 422 billion
minutes were consumed on TV, making it the most watched World Cup ever.
The World Cup final between India and Australia was
watched by 300 million people, with a peak concurrency of 130 million, making
it the most-watched cricket match on TV according to Disney Star.
The final also broke digital viewership records, with
Disney+ Hotstar recording a high of 59 million concurrent viewers, the most for
any live sports event.