The Indian team’s spectacular batting display in the World Cup 2023 semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium this afternoon has resulted in a phenomenal new viewership record for Disney Plus Hotstar. After breaching the magic figure of 4 crore concurrent views in earlier matches, the India vs New Zealand match today hit an eye-popping 5.1 crore (51 million) concurrent views on Disney Plus Hotstar. Yes, 51 million people have simultaneously watched Indian batters hit New Zealand bowlers out of the park in the World Cup 2023 semi-final this afternoon.
Not just for cricket, 5.1 crore concurrent viewers is a new high for the entire sports-centric live streaming space at large. No live-streaming of any sporting event in the world has touched 5 crore (50 million) concurrent viewers ever – not even the more popular and more widely followed FIFA World Cup even.
Of course, the FIFA World Cup 2022 drew in record TV viewership numbers, but we’re talking about concurrent viewers on streaming, which the India Vs New Zealand match today easily wins the race for most concurrent views ever.
The ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 has been a heartwarming victory for beleaguered streaming platform Disney Plus Hotstar. The platform has been consistently hitting record high concurrent viewership numbers. It started with 3.5 crore viewers (35 million) for the India vs Pakistan match; hit new highs with 4.3 crore concurrent viewers (43 million) for the previous India Vs NZ match; and followed it up with even higher numbers in subsequent matches.
But today has truly been magnificent. As Virat Kohli and gang piled on the runs, the number of concurrent viewers on Disney Plus Hotstar climbed steadily, until it reached a record-breaking 5.1 crore views on the streaming giant by the time the final few overs came around.
The record-breaking viewing numbers prove yet again how alluring cricket is for streaming and broadcast platforms, especially in terms of the advertising revenue the matches rake in. Disney Plus Hotstar is expected to mint ₹2000 crores – 3500 crores in advertising revenue during the World Cup 2023, almost double of ad revenues in the previous World Cup.
The record-breaking views can be attributed partly to Disney Plus Hotstar’s strategy of streaming the World Cup 2023 matches free for viewers on the Hotstar mobile app. But then again, actual concurrent views should work out to be even higher than 51 million, coz several million people would also be watching the match on Disney Plus Hotstar on wide-screen TVs.
Whatever be the nitty-gritty, the bottom line is this World Cup 2023 has proven to be the golden goose for Disney Plus Hotstar in more ways than one!