• Sportzyverse
• Cricket news, IPL 2024
• 03/28/2024
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The highly anticipated opening clash of IPL 2024 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) shattered TV viewership records, announced broadcasters Disney Star on Thursday. According to an official release, the match witnessed an unprecedented viewership of 16.8 Crore unique viewers, with a staggering watch-time of 1276 Crore minutes on Day 1, marking the highest-ever for the opening day of any IPL season.

Monumental TV Viewership

The 17th season of IPL witnessed the highest-ever peak TV concurrency for an IPL Opening Day, with 6.1 Crore viewers tuning in simultaneously on the Disney Star network. A Star Sports Spokesperson hailed this achievement as monumental, attributing it to the fans’ love for Star Sports and the network’s unwavering commitment to serving fans.

The IPL 2024 opening day boasted a star-studded line-up of talent, featuring IPL title winners, World Cup champions, renowned coaches, and cricketing legends. The commentary box saw the return of Navjot Singh Sidhu, alongside India’s World Champions Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, and Kris Srikkanth. Debutants Steve Smith and Stuart Broad joined seasoned legends Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, and Dale Steyn in presenting IPL 2024.

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Wholesome Entertainment

The ensemble of approximately 120 cricketers was complemented by national and regional celebrities, fan-favourite presenters, and content creators, delivering wholesome entertainment on the Opening Day. CSK’s former stars Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, L Balaji, and Subramaniam Badrinath, along with IPL champions Vinay Kumar and Venugopal Rao, spearheaded Disney Star’s regional feeds in 9 languages.

In the digital sphere, JioCinema reported a staggering 11.3 crore viewers on the first day of IPL 2024, marking a 51% jump over day one of IPL 2023. The streamer recorded a total watch time of 660 crore minutes on day 1, underscoring the growing popularity of digital platforms for IPL viewership.

The record-breaking TV viewership on the opening day, coupled with the surge in digital engagement, reflects the enduring popularity and widespread appeal of the IPL.