India vs Pak World Cup match: Will it break past digital viewership records?

India vs Pakistan matches are highly anticipated and always attract a lot of attention from cricket fans worldwide.

Whether it's a test match, ODI or T20, a face-off between these two arch-rivals in the world of men’s cricket is always fiercely contested and full of drama.

The intense rivalry between them dates back several decades. The matches are known for their high-pressure situations and exciting gameplay that keep viewers hooked to their television sets or mobile phones.

The opening match of India in the ICC Men’s World Cup clocked 2.5 crore concurrent viewers on the digital platform Disney+ Hotstar. Now all eyes are on what the much-anticipated India vs Pakistan match holds in terms of viewership.

The last highest viewership for the India vs Pakistan match was during the ICC World Cup 2019 when over 5 crore concurrent users tuned in to watch the match digitally.

During the same series, a high viewership of 2.5 crore was recorded during the semi-final game between India and New Zealand.

This year saw big cricketing events on digital platforms, like IPL and Asia Cup, which garnered huge viewership.

While India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023, which was played on September 11, clocked 2.8 crore concurrent users on Disney+ Hotstar, making it the highest for any India match in the history of digital viewership, IPL 2023 racked up 3.2 crore concurrent viewership during its finale match between CSK and Gujarat Titans.

It will be interesting to see if the upcoming match between the arch-rivals in the men’s cricket world cup, India and Pakistan, to be held on October 14, breaks all previous records.

Past digital viewership of Ind vs Pak matches

*Asia Cup 2023 - The match registered 2.8 crore concurrent users which is the highest for any India match in the history of digital.

*T20 World Cup 2022 – According to reports, over 1.8 crore viewers tuned in to watch the Ind vs Pak match on digital streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar.

*Asia Cup 2022 - The match registered 1.3 crore concurrent users in the first Ind vs Pak match and 1.4 crore in the second match.

*ICC World Cup 2019 – The India-Pak match drew in over 5 crore digital-only users. 

A look at the IPL viewership

IPL 2023 – Viacom18-owned OTT platform JioCinema pulled in 3.2 crore viewers for its digital broadcast of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) final, claiming a global record for the most concurrent views of a live-streamed event.

IPL 2022 – According to reports, the highest concurrent viewership for the series on digital platforms was 1.3 crore in 2022.