India-Aus world cup final match creates record peak viewership of 5.9 cr on Disney+Hotstar

The India-Australia cricket World Cup final match on Sunday, 19 November, created record peak viewership crossing 5.9 crore mark despite the host nation ending on the losing side, according to Disney+Hotstar.

The peak concurrency, which is the highest number of viewers during a live stream, for the final match on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar was nearly 5.9 crore.

With this, it has surpassed the peak concurrency of 5.2 crore viewership recorded in the India - New Zealand semifinal match.

The India versus Pakistan league match of the tournament last month had recorded peak currency of 3.5 crore.

Sunday's final match was also beamed live by Disney Star on Star Sports network but viewership numbers will be released only a week later by the television audience measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

Disney+ Hotstar India Head Sajith Sivanandan said, "With a staggering 5.9 crore concurrent viewers tuning in on Disney+ Hotstar for the final ... higher than any peak concurrency record set before the tournament—the unwavering support of Indian cricket fans has consistently propelled us to new heights in live sports streaming.".

Disney Star has exclusive broadcast and media rights for both linear and digital platforms.

The India-Australia final match was also screened by leading multiplex operator PVR INOX at 150 cinemas in over 60 cities comprising major metros, Tier-1, 2 and 3 cities with over 70,000 cricket fans watching the match when it started translating to over 70 per cent occupancy, PVR INOX Ltd Executive Director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli said.