World Cup final most watched women’s sporting event in India
The ICC Women’s World Cup cricket final between India and England held on 23 July at Lord’s in London clocked 19.53 million impressions on television, making it the most watched women’s sporting event in India so far.
The data shared by TV ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) was calculated across seven television channels, six of which were part of the Star Sports network.
Impressions refer to the number of individuals in thousands of a target audience who viewed an event, averaged across minutes. It is also known as television viewership in thousands, as per Barc India.
In a heartbreaking end to a fantastic run, India lost to England by nine runs. In the run-up to the final, the team led by Mithali Raj beat England, Pakistan, the West Indies and Australia and captured the popular imagination at home.
“Its a good sign. It’s the public’s responsibility to back the Indian team when they’re playing so well. Today, with social media being very powerful, everyone is far more aware and people are watching on their mobile phones as well,” said former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who was actively tweeting during the World Cup final.
“Super proud of the girls. Tough luck today but womens cricket in India has truly arrived. Thank you girls. Salute your spirit. #WWC17Final,” read one of his tweets.
According to Indranil Das Blah, founding partner at Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions, a sports marketing agency, these numbers are phenomenal for a sports format that wasn’t really followed earlier here.