The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the biggest and most exciting cricket league in the world. It has once again attracted the viewer with its charm. The ongoing edition of IPL 2024 recorded a viewership of 35 Crore in its first 10 matches, which is higher than any of the seasons. These numbers are higher than the season played during the Covid-19 pandemic, the official broadcaster Disney Star claimed on Thursday.
According to the BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) data released by Disney Star, the watch time for the tournament has climbed up to 8,028 crore minutes, which is 20 percent higher than last season.
"We are overwhelmed with the record-breaking viewing figures for TATA IPL 2024. Disney Star has started the 17th season from where it left off last year, doubling down on fan-centred initiatives that seek to drive passion and fandom for the tournament," Sanjog Gupta, Head of Disney Star said in a press release.
Disney Star is the official broadcaster of the IPL. It provides the IPL across 14 feeds in 10 languages with a special feed in Indian Sign Language for Deaf, Heard-of-Hearing, and Visually Impaired fans. In 2022, Disney Star bagged the rights of TV for Indian Subcontinent on the whopping amount of INR 23,575 Crore. With winning the bid at INR 57.5 Crore per match. The Digital Rights were sold to Viacom 18 in the amount of INR 20,500 Crore winning the bid at INR 50 Crore per game.
The first match recorded the highest viewership
This 2024 season started with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) taking on the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai. According to the viewership numbers, 16.8 crore witnessed the opening game on March 22. Disney Star said the opening day registered a watch time of 1,276 crore minutes, which is the highest ever for the first match of than IPL season. Notably, watch time is a compilation of the time spent by each viewer in watching the game.
KKR is at the top of the points table
Currently, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders are standing at the top of the points table after defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 106 runs. They have won all of their three matches and have an astonishing net run rate of 2.518. They are followed by the RR, who have also won all three of their matches. Five-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is in the third position with two wins from three matches. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is in the fourth spot with two wins in three matches. However, Five times champions Mumbai Indians (MI) is at the bottom of the table.
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