With over 32 million watching together, CSK’s epic win didn’t just break records – it rewrote how we watch cricket
If you blinked, you missed a number. Not a four, not a six — but a jaw-dropping 32 million. That’s how many fans tuned in at once to watch the IPL 2023 Final between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) on JioCinema.
The match didn’t just captivate fans across the country — it captivated the digital world. What unfolded wasn’t just a game of cricket. It was a broadcast behemoth, a digital stampede, a viewing revolution.
Let’s break it down, story!
Credit: ESPN
Picture this — the rain-delayed final hanging by a thread, the revised 15-over chase swinging like a pendulum, and millions holding their breath as CSK marched towards their fifth IPL crown. When Ravindra Jadeja struck the winning runs, 32 million hearts beat as one.
That figure, 32 million concurrent viewers, wasn’t plucked from thin air. It shattered the previous record of 25.7 million, set just days earlier during the GT vs MI qualifier. Before that? It was India vs New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-final — a match that attracted 25.3 million peak viewers on Disney+ Hotstar.
But this one? It wasn’t televised. It was streamed. And exclusively streamed.
Credit: Sisat.com
For the first time, JioCinema held exclusive digital rights to the IPL. No TV simulcast. No cable. Just the internet and a billion possibilities. And boy, did it pay off. Viacom18, the broadcaster, went all in. ₹23,758 crore was the price tag for those digital rights. Risky? Perhaps. But it was a punt that turned into a sprint — towards history.
By the time the final arrived, the figures had already begun to soar. The total video views from the second qualifier alone had crossed 16 billion. And the average viewer? They stuck around for over 60 minutes per match. That’s not casual browsing — that’s a full-on cricket binge.
Credit: First post
It wasn’t just eyeballs that JioCinema raked in. The platform secured 26 sponsors and an astounding 800+ advertisers during the tournament. With a target of ₹3700 crore in advertising revenue, every extra second someone spent watching contributed to that massive investment. It wasn’t solely about the game — it was about crafting a digital carnival.
JioCinema set a lofty goal: 550 million unique viewers for the tournament. And if this final was any indication, they weren’t just close — they may have exceeded it without blinking.
Credit: ESPN
In the end, CSK won by five wickets under the DLS method, a fitting finale to a season full of drama. But while Jadeja’s flick to fine leg closed the game, the real victory may have belonged to the screen in your palm.
Cricket, once confined to the pitch and the telly, has fully burst into the digital space. No cables. No remotes. Just taps, swipes, and a shared heartbeat across millions.
