JioCinema vs Disney Star: What have been the viewership numbers in IPL 2023 so far?

The IPL 2023 viewership data for the initial stage was revealed on Thursday (April 13) by the official broadcasting partners of the event.

IPL 2023 has witnessed some nail-biting finishes in the last 13 days with the clash between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals breaking some viewership records.

The BCCI sold four different categories of tenders for the media rights of the IPL for the new cycle (2023-2027) in June last year.

Disney Star retained the television rights for INR 23,575 crores, while Viacom18, a new entrant in the sports broadcasting field, acquired the digital rights for INR 23,758 crores. It has been a slugfest for both the broadcasting partners of the BCCI to attract viewers for IPL 2023.

The latest release from Disney Star has mentioned that the network clocked 6,230 crore minutes of watch time for the first 10 matches of this season.

A total of 30.7 crore viewers turned up to watch the first 10 games of IPL 2023 on their television screens, which is 23% more viewership than what the same broadcaster had in the previous edition of the IPL.

Sanjog Gupta, Head - Sports, Disney Star, stated:

“We are elated with the overwhelming response to Disney Star's broadcast of Tata IPL 2023. Following on from a great opening, viewing figures continue to break records registering the 2nd highest reach and watch-time for the first 10 matches in IPL history (excluding the Covid period). This is a testament to the relentless effort and investment by Disney Star in growing Cricket fandom through its compelling marketing campaigns, world-class coverage, and enhanced storytelling.

"We are grateful for the continued love and support Star Sports receives from fans as their preferred destination. The peak concurrency on TV for the opening match of 5.6 Cr - the highest ever in IPL history (excluding Covid times) - demonstrates the power of IPL combined with Star Sports in aggregating viewers at the same time."

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JioCinema registers astonishing figures in start of IPL 2023

JioCinema, Viacom18's online streaming platform for IPL 2023, has recorded a cumulative viewership of 550 crore for 17 matches concluded by Wednesday (April 12).

According to the digital partner, the 17th match between CSK and RR in Chepauk saw the highest-ever concurrent viewership, which touched 2.2 crore when CSK captain MS Dhoni pushed the game to the last over with his renowned power-hitting shots.

While directly targeting its rival broadcaster Disney Star in the number show, JioCinema stated:

"The numbers for JioCinema are way bigger than what Disney+ Hotstar had when it had the streaming rights for IPL. The early matches on JioCinema are doing far better than the final encounters of the past on Disney+ Hotstar. In terms of engagement, JioCinema continues to set new benchmarks every day. The streaming app has been adding millions of new viewers for IPL on a daily basis."

The massive viewership of JioCinema has to be credited with its free live streaming of the complete IPL 2023 season.