FIFA WC Qatar: 32 million tuned to JioCinema during final, overtakes TV viewership in India
Dec 19, 2022
New Delhi [India], December 19 : In a major feat, online viewership in India during a global marquee sports event went past traditional television for the first during Sunday's World Cup final between Argentina and France.
As many as 32 million viewers tuned in to JioCinema on the final day of the FIFA World Cup Final as Argentina picked the FIFA World Cup Trophy for the first time since 1986.
According to an official statement of JioCinema, over 110 million viewers consumed the content on digital, making India one of the highest digital viewership markets for the FIFA World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 attracted India's attention with a mammoth 40 billion minutes of watch time being clocked across Sports18 and JioCinema, which continued to be the No. 1 downloaded free app on iOS and Android throughout the tournament, the statement said.
"We promised to give consumers easy access to the world-class presentation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and on the back of that, the tournament became the most-watched global sports event on digital where India has not participated," said Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj.
This, Jayaraj said in the statement, demonstrated the power of digital and the preference viewers and fans have shown to consume their favourite events.
Also, it is not just online viewers, brands too partnered with the world's most prestigious football tournament on JioCinema and Sports18 garnered recall like never before.
"Over 50 brands across ecommerce, banking, financial services, auto, fashion, hospitality and fintech leveraged the quadrennial showpiece's potential to reach their audience," the statement said.
On Sunday night, Argentina came out victorious in the intensely fought final in what was the last World Cup for Argentine talisman Lionel Messi. After finishing all square at the end of the second half of extra time, Argentina won the final 4-2 on penalties.
