Story via Cricexec
India made history by winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, defeating Latest Zealand by 4 wickets in an exhilarating final on the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The electrifying contest drew an unprecedented surge in digital viewership, with Jio Hotstar registering a staggering 84.5 crore (845 million) views by the top of the match.
In streaming metrics, ‘viewers’ seek advice from unique individuals who watched the content, while ‘views’ account for the full variety of times the content was accessed, including multiple views by the identical person.
The ultimate was a gripping battle from start to complete. Batting first, Latest Zealand posted 251/7, led by Daryl Mitchell’s regular 63 off 101 balls and a quickfire 53 off 40 from Michael Bracewell. India’s spin duo, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, played a pivotal role in restricting the Black Caps. As Latest Zealand’s innings drew to an in depth, viewership had already surged to 39.7 crore (397 million) views. Nevertheless, the true spike got here during India’s chase.
India-Pakistan: record-setting Feb 23 match
Earlier within the tournament, the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan clash in the course of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 became the second most-watched cricket match in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) history (outside of World Cup matches), attracting a powerful 20.6 crore (206 million) TV viewers.
The February 23 match, held in Dubai, surpassed even the previous India vs Pakistan encounter within the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup India 2023. The rankings (TVR) for the Champions Trophy clash were around 11% higher than the ODI World Cup match in Ahmedabad in 2023. This match, which saw Virat Kohli becoming the fastest to 14,000 ODI runs, also recorded a staggering 2609 crore minutes of TV watch-time.
A JioStar spokesperson shared their excitement concerning the achievement, stating, “JioStar is scaling latest heights so far as India’s experience of marquee sporting events is worried. Combining the ability of deep consumer focus, immersive storytelling, universalised access and incisive marketing, Star Sports has galvanised the interest on this age-old rivalry. We remain committed to serving fans, deepening fandom and recruiting latest cohorts.”
The match also became memorable for a surprising and heartwarming moment when former captain MS Dhoni and Bollywood star Sunny Deol were spotted watching the sport together.
This captured the imagination of fans across India and quickly became a viral moment, reaching even those that weren’t watching the match.
Ahead of the highly charged encounter, Star Sports curated engaging programming to construct excitement. Special shows like “Thank You Pakistan…Jeetega Hindustan”, featuring legends akin to Navjot Singh Sidhu, Yuvraj Singh, Shahid Afridi, and Inzamam-Ul-Haq, and “Follow the Blues”, which provided a behind-the-scenes take a look at India’s preparations, helped to set the stage.
On the day of the match, Star Sports’ live coverage began at 8:00 AM with “Dil Se India”, capturing the fervor and anticipation surrounding the clash.
Along with the live match viewership, Star Sports’ Oaksmith Cricket Live pre, mid, and post-match shows garnered 2.2 crore additional viewers, further amplifying the event’s impact.
This remarkable success is a testament to the growing popularity of cricket, and the continuing engagement from fans who proceed to flock to those high-profile events.
India-Latest Zealand surpasses India-Pakistan in views
For context, the highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash on February 23 amassed 60.2 crore (602 million) views (from the 20.6m crore viewers), while the semifinal against Australia reached 66.9 crore views (669 million). The ultimate, nonetheless, shattered all records, underscoring the immense digital appetite for cricket.
Previously, Disney+ Hotstar—official broadcaster of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and ICC T20 World Cup 2024—displayed concurrent viewership figures. Nevertheless, following the Jio and Hotstar merger right into a single platform, only total views are actually being reported in real time, with data on unique viewers yet to be disclosed.
