The audience reach of the India vs Pakistan World Cup match on digital eclipsed TV, marking a watershed moment in Indian sports consumption. Industry watchers say this is the first time a cricket match has had more viewership on digital than on TV.
According to BARC data, India vs Pakistan match attracted 173 million TV viewers on the Disney Star network and Doordarshan, whereas 225 million viewers watched the match digitally on Disney+ Hotstar. The match had 76 million peak concurrencies on TV, whereas on digital, the peak concurrency was 35 million. The subcontinent rivals played on October 14 in Ahmedabad. Media buyers say that the combined reach of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will set new benchmarks, even though the drop in TV reach is cause for concern.
