Disney says 518 mn Indian users watched ICC World Cup on TV, 59 mn on Hotstar app; BCCI's Jay Shah reacts

Disney has said that a record 518 million Indian viewers watched the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup tournament, which was on for 48 days. The entertainment company had bought digital and streaming rights to broadcast all the ICC's tournaments in India from 2024 to 2027 by paying around $3 billion. Its Hotstar streaming app set a concurrent viewership record of 59 million during the final match of the World Cup, the company said in a statement.

As per BARC, the tournament crossed a viewership of half a billion viewers for the first time as 518 million (51.8 crore) TV viewers tuned in for the live broadcast of the marquee tournament being played in India after 12 years. The live TV broadcast for the tournament garnered 422 billion minutes of TV watch time making it the most watched ICC Men’s World Cup in the history of the event. 

The final between India Vs Australia delivered a peak concurrency of 13 crore which surpassed the previous highest peak concurrency in the tournament with India Vs Pakistan at 7.5 crore and India Vs New Zealand at 8 crore.

Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said that the Cricket World Cup 2023 was the most watched event on Indian television. 

A staggering 30 Crore fans watched the @cricketworldcup 2023 Final on TV making it the most watched event of any kind in Indian television history. Peak TV Concurrency also reached a historic high of 13 Crore (peak digital concurrency was 5.9 Crore, also a world record). We are again humbled by the love and passion Indian fans have for our sport. Thank you to all those who bleed blue... @StarSportsIndia @ICC @BCCI," Shah posted on social media X (formerly Twitter). 

Earlier, the channel said the final match between India and Australia created a record peak viewership of nearly 5.9 crore. It surpassed the peak concurrency of 5.3 crore viewership recorded in the India-New Zealand semifinal match.

Peak concurrency, which is the highest number of viewers during a live stream, for the match between India and Pakistan league match of the World Cup tournament in October was 3.5 crore.

K Madhavan, Country Manager & President, Disney Star, “Disney Star is dedicated to paving the road for sports broadcast in India and it has been extremely encouraging to see growth across both, the linear and digital mediums, thereby increasing the fan base of cricket. This is testament to the uniqueness of the India market where linear and digital continue to grow alongside each other. This successful tournament has set the stage for a promising future in our association with the ICC."

Disney's deal in India

In October it was reported that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd is nearing a cash and stock deal to buy Walt Disney Co.’s India operations. Bloomberg said the US entertainment giant may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which it values at around $10 billion. 

In July it was reported that Disney has been exploring options to sell or find a partner for its India assets. The network has held talks with billionaires Gautam Adani and Sun TV Network-owner Kalanithi Maran as well as private equity firm Blackstone, Reuters reported.

Disney’s India business, which comprises the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service and Star India, was its biggest last year globally by users. It posted a loss of $41.5 million on revenue of $390 million for the year to March 2022.