India-Pakistan T20 Clash Smashes Viewership Records, Tops World Cup Final

The scintillating performance by India also ensured a 56% growth in reach over India vs Pakistan in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 on digital. On mobile, the game clocked the highest match reach in the league stage of any ICC T20 event and 1.2x more than the last India-Pakistan clash at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. Recognised as the Greatest Rivalry in cricket, the India-Pakistan contest demonstrated its unmatched appeal as fans converged on JioHotstar. On CTV, the match reach was 2.4x higher than the India-Pakistan contest of the 2024 edition. The match generated a staggering 20 billion minutes of total watch time across all screens, underscoring the massive depth of fan engagement. This led to a 42% increase in consumption compared to the previous edition's fixture, driven by the Indian national cricket team's dominant performance as they extended their head-to-head record over Pakistan at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup to 8-1. On linear TV, the highly anticipated match delivered an equally stellar performance, clocking a TVR growth of 71% to become the highest-rated India-Pakistan T20 contest since 2021. The record-breaking engagement on linear TV highlighted the sustained power of traditional broadcast in delivering a massive, collective viewing experience. With associate nations competing hard and putting up a show in this edition, the cumulative reach of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the end of the group stage is set to better that of the entire last edition on digital already. "The build-up to the India vs Pakistan game at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 and the match itself had all the ingredients of a spectacle. The record-breaking reach and consumption reflect the scale at which fans all over engage with this tournament across platforms," said Anup Govindan, Head - Sales, Sports, JioStar.

"This tournament has already delivered thrilling moments for fans worldwide, and the response to the India-Pakistan clash sets the tone for an exciting ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 with the best yet to come," he added. "The unprecedented viewership and engagement numbers for India vs Pakistan is further proof of the nation's obsession with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup," said Siddharth Sharma, Head of Content, Sports - JioStar.

"Complementing the Indian Cricket Team's stellar exploits on the field with unmatched scale and choice of unique content offerings, JioStar is giving viewers more than one reason to stay locked in as India attempts to defeat history and become the first ever back-to-back T20 World Champions," he said further. With India's berth sealed for the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 beginning February 21, the tournament enters its decisive phase as the defending champions move forward in their pursuit to "repeat and defeat history".

- ANI