Cricket returns with the greatest rivalry breaking viewership records

Cricket has returned with a big bang ahead of the festive season as 176 million* viewers tuned in to watch the first six games of DP World Asia Cup 2022. The high-octane blockbuster between India and Pakistan on August 28^th, 2022, recorded a cumulative reach of 133 million* and registered 13.6 billion minutes*, registering a growth of almost 30% compared to the Ind-Pak encounter in Asia Cup 2016.

Speaking about the record viewership for the India-Pakistan DP World Asia Cup 2022 match in the opening week, Sanjog Gupta, Head – Sports, Disney Star said,"The record-breaking viewership for Asia Cup 2022 demonstrates Cricket’s unparalleled power to aggregate fans across platforms, enhanced by Disney Star’s focus on audience expansion. We were focused on elevating the stature of Asia Cup as a marquee tournament and expanding the appeal of Ind vs Pak as the unmissable 'Greatest Rivalry'. Our high decibel marketing campaign combined with focus on lead-up programming and regional coverage has resulted in the Ind vs Pak league match becoming the highest rated T20I ever (outside of World Cup matches). This is an ideal start to the festival of Cricket which entails bilateral series vs Australia & South Africa and is followed by the ICC T20 World Cup."

In the lead-up to the Asia Cup 2022, Star Sports, India’s Home of Sports, released a series of activations to capture the attention of its viewers and fans like never before. While the #GreatestRivalry campaign exemplified the emotions, passion and pride of an Indian fan, a host of programming and amplification initiatives added to the overall fandom and fervor for the tournament.

Star Sports was also instrumental in bringing two of the biggest legends – Ravi Shastri and WasimAkram – together after almost a decadeto curate a LIVE ‘Shaz and Waz’ show. Additionally, a special show ‘Virat: Heart To Heart’ featuring King Kohlibecame the most candid interview that the Indian legend has ever delivered.

Team India’s next series will be at home as they host ICC T20 World Cup champions Australia in a 3-T20I series that gets underway on September 20^th, 2022, 7.30 PM, LIVE & Exclusive on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.

*: BARC data for 2+ U+R- Star Sports Network + DD Sports