ICC World Cup 2023: IND vs PAK match shatters viewership record, Disney+ Hotstar sees 3.5 crore live viewers

The thrilling match between India and Pakistan in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 drew a lot of fanfare in the Narendra Modi Stadium, with performances by top artists and a lavish pre-match ceremony. Meanwhile, the match shattered a major global streaming record.

ICC World Cup 2023 streaming partner Disney+ Hotstar drew the highest-ever number of viewers during the IND vs PAK match of the cricket tournament, setting a new record for global viewership of any event.

India vs Pakistan match on October 14 saw a record-high viewership of 3.5 crore on Disney+ Hotstar last night, shattering the record for online viewership of any event. The OTT platform has been recording a gradual surge in Team India matches, touching a record high last night.

Previously, this record was held by the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, which saw a record viewership of 3.2 crore. Further, Hotstar had recorded a whopping 2.8 crore viewership during the IND vs PAK match in Asia Cup 2023.

In an effort to attract more viewers during the surge of the cricket season, Disney+ Hotstar had previously announced that they would offer free streaming of cricket tournaments like Asia Cup, ICC World Cup 2023, and others for mobile users.

Disney Star ended up retaining the rights of all ICC events till the end of 2027, which includes both men’s and women’s tournaments, for a massive amount of USD 3 billion, which comes out to over Rs 24,983 crore in Indian currency.

There was a major drop in paid users of Disney+ Hotstar when it lost the streaming rights of IPL, with the number of subscriptions dropping to just 4 crore from 6.1 crore as recorded in July 2023. The IPL rights were bought out by Viacom18.

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