The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 has set a new benchmark by crossing the 1 trillion mark in total viewing minutes on broadcast. This includes the innovative vertical video feed technology. The event saw a 38% increase in viewership from the 2011 edition in India and a 17% rise from the 2019 World Cup in the United Kingdom.
The grand finale between India and Australia lived up to its hype, becoming the most-watched ICC match with a staggering 87.6 billion live viewing minutes globally. This represents a 46% growth from the last time India hosted the final in 2011.
India, the host country, significantly contributed to these impressive numbers, with the Disney Star Network alone accounting for 422 billion viewing minutes. This is a massive 54% increase from 2011 and a 9% rise from 2019.
The increase in female viewership also played a significant role in this growth, rising from 32% in 2011 to 34% in 2023. This shift highlights the widespread excitement surrounding the tournament in the host country.
Outside of India, the UK and Australia also saw significant growth in broadcast numbers. The UK had 800 hours of live coverage, resulting in over 5.86 billion minutes of live viewing. Australia contributed 3.79 billion minutes of viewing from 602 hours of live coverage, marking a 92% increase from 2011.
Australia’s successful campaign saw 9.1 million people tuning in to watch the 2023 World Cup, a rise of three million from 2019.
India’s neighbouring country, Pakistan, also achieved record viewership, with a total of 237.12 billion viewing minutes of live content.
Disney+ Hotstar’s decision to stream the World Cup for free in India led to the record for peak concurrent viewers being shattered four times during the tournament. The final match attracted the highest concurrent audience in cricket history.
| Match | Peak concurrent viewers |
| India vs Australia (Final) | 59 million |
| India v New Zealand (Semi-Final) | 53 million |
| India v South Africa | 44 million |
| India v New Zealand (Group match) | 43 million |
| India v Pakistan | 35 million |
The digital front also saw record-breaking numbers, with an astounding 16.9 billion video views, making it the most digitally-engaged ICC event to date.
The 2023 World Cup surpassed the 2022 T20 World Cup with a massive 158% increase in digital engagement. The event offered a plethora of content, from ‘It Takes One Day’ preview shows to exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
A fun reimagination of Glenn Maxwell’s comeback against Afghanistan on social media garnered a whopping 50 million views. Virat Kohli’s video of his embrace with idol Sachin Tendulkar after breaking his ODI centuries record attracted 40 million views on Instagram (78 million views overall).
Kohli also made headlines by taking a wicket during the tournament. His dismissal of Scott Edwards contributed to 39 million video plays on Instagram.
ICC’s partnership with Meta, which included the Meta Creator Squad India, showcased a fun, never-seen-before side of players before and during the tournament. This partnership resulted in 16.3 billion video plays across Meta channels (9.7 billion on Facebook and 6.6 billion on Instagram).
The event also saw a record-breaking number of users on both web and app platforms, reaching 97.5 million unique users, a 29% increase from the 2019 edition. The website’s page views soared to 704 million, a 96% increase compared to the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup.