According to recent data from BARC, the first cricket test match between India and Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy has garnered impressive viewership ratings. It is the third highest-rated bilateral test match in the last seven years, following only two India-England test matches, one of which was a day and night match.
This increase in viewership is a positive trend for cricket, especially considering the worrying drop in viewership during last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). Over the last 15 months, however, cricket viewership has grown on television. This trend has been observed across several events, including the Asia Cup, India’s bilateral series with both Australia and South Africa, and now the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
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Sanjog Gupta, head of sports at Disney Star, expressed optimism about the robustness of cricket viewership on TV. He highlighted that the first test match of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar trophy was among the top five most-watched test matches since 2018. The data indicates that the first test match between India and Australia registered a 43% increase in the Average Minute Audience (7.3 million) compared to the first test between India and England played in 2021.
It is also worth noting that the match between India and Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup has also garnered impressive viewership ratings. It is the second-highest-rated women’s T20 match in the last seven years.
India Reaches All-Time High With Boom In TV Ratings
Overall, the recent increase in cricket viewership on television is a promising development for the sport. With events like the Border-Gavaskar trophy and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup attracting large audiences, it is clear that cricket remains a popular and beloved sport around the world.
Sanjog Gupta, head of sports at Disney Star, highlighted that the India-Pakistan match in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is the second most-watched match in the last seven years, with the India-Australia final of the T20 World Cup taking the top spot.
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He emphasized that events of such stature, especially in live sports, automatically lead to higher viewership. The company also aired all the games of the Indian women’s team live before the World Cup, which potentially contributed to the increase in viewership.
Looking ahead, Gupta expects these high viewership ratings to continue until the Indian Premier League (IPL). He believes that sporting events are highly significant, encouraging communal viewing, and their immediacy factor makes them ideal to watch on TV.
He also noted that watching on TV allows fans to adjust their level of attention and involvement and manage distractions effectively. This seamless, lean-back experience means that the average duration of viewing sessions on TV is longer than on smaller screens.
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