Disney+ Hotstar Breaks Records With 5.3Cr Viewers In India-NZ Semi-Final

As the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 reached the semi-final stage, Disney+ Hotstar registered an unprecedented 50 million (5.3 Cr) peak concurrent viewers for the India vs New Zealand match. It sets a new benchmark, signalling record-breaking viewership for this weekend's highly-anticipated finals.

On Wednesday, Disney+ Hotstar witnessed over 5.1 crore viewers tuning in during the first innings of the India-New Zealand clash at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Impressively, viewership crossed 5.3 crore concurrent users while New Zealand was chasing India's massive total of 398 runs.

Interestingly, Disney+ Hotstar has continually broken its own viewership records throughout this World Cup campaign by streaming matches for free. The India-Pakistan match on October 14 set the initial benchmark with 3.5 crore concurrents, surpassing the IPL final record. It was soon crossed during the subsequent India-South Africa match with 4.3 crore viewers.

This achievement beat JioCinema's previous record of 32 million peak viewership from the IPL 2022 final earlier this year. With India cementing its spot in the finals after 2011 by defeating New Zealand, another major viewership spike is expected for the finale on Sunday.

Experts say Disney's strategic move to provide free World Cup streaming on mobile helped counter competitor Viacom18's growing influence, capitalizing on India's cricket fever.