The ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 (#CWC23) has already shattered digital records, with an astounding 6.64 billion video views registered so far. This represents a 127% increase compared to the same stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and a 314% increase from the 2019 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Surpassing Previous Viewership Records
The current tournament has already outpaced the total video viewership of last year’s event in Australia, which garnered 6.58 billion views in its entirety.
Record Engagement on Meta’s Platforms
In what is being hailed as the most digitally-engaged event in cricket history, Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, have recorded 4 billion and 2.5 billion views respectively. Content on Reels has been a significant driver of this increase, with fan-viewing numbers doubling the average seen for the T20 World Cup in 2022.
ICC’s Commitment to Digital Engagement
ICC Head of Digital, Finn Bradshaw, expressed delight at the digital engagement levels, stating that the one-day format allows for deeper connections with fans. He also highlighted the ICC’s commitment to providing a bigger and better digital offering, which has been well-received by hundreds of millions of fans worldwide.
Collaboration with Meta Yields Impressive Results
As part of their collaboration with the ICC, Meta’s platforms have seen an average of 60,000 engagements per post, a 33% increase over Australia 2022. The best-performing content, ‘Four Years and One Cricket World Cup apart’, has garnered 69.7 million plays so far.
Reaching Broader Audiences
The collaboration between ICC and Meta has also resulted in the largest creator campaign in ICC’s history, leading to extensive coverage and reaching audiences beyond just cricket fans. The locally produced content continues to be a hit, generating hundreds of millions of views.
ICC’s Owned-and-Operated Platforms Show Significant Numbers
ICC’s owned-and-operated platforms have also seen significant engagement, with a first-of-its-kind vertical video highlights experience on its website and the official CWC 23 app attracting 43 million fans. Fans are spending more time on these pages, with pages per session and average session time both up 50% from the previous year.
Blockchain Technology Enhances Fan Engagement
Captain’s Call, a new pre-match strategy challenge that uses blockchain technology from ICC’s partner NEAR, has seen hundreds of thousands of users signing up to test their cricket knowledge against their friends.
Streaming World Record Set by Hotstar and Star Sports
The ICC digital record follows a streaming world record set by Hotstar and Star Sports during India’s clash against New Zealand on Sunday, 22 October, when a peak concurrency of around 43 million viewers was registered during the final overs of the match.
This broke Hotstar’s own record for the highest number of concurrent viewers, previously set at 35 million during the India-Pakistan clash on October 14 earlier in the event.
More Digital Records Expected to be Broken
With half of CWC23 still to be played, it is anticipated that more digital records will be broken.