India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy Match Garners Higher Viewership Than World Cup Fixture

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was a successful tournament for more reasons than one. Not only did India win the tournament for the first time since 20113, but according to an ICC release, it also received 23% higher viewership compared to the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Not surprisingly, the India vs Pakistan match in the recently concluded tournament also received a 10.8% higher TV rating than the 2023 World Cup fixture between the two sides.

"The high-profile league encounter between archrivals India and Pakistan became one of the most watched ODI matches ever in India, clocking over 26 billion minutes of watch-time on linear TV as per figures released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council," the ICC media release said.

"The chartbuster achieved an impressive 10.8 % higher television rating than the India-Pakistan match in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 played in Ahmedabad had registered 19.5 billion linear viewing minutes compared to 26.5 billion minutes in the Champions Trophy match.

"The match played to a packed house in Dubai on 23 February, was witnessed by a record 206 million people on linear TV as India continued their dominance over Pakistan in global ICC events with superstar Virat Kohli carving a memorable six-wicket win for the eventual champions."

The final played between India and New Zealand, too, was one of the most viewed matches in recent times. 

"The live broadcast of the event received an astounding total watch time of 137 billion minutes on Star Sports and 110 billion minutes on JioHotstar. The enormous numbers were a result of a blockbuster final between India and New Zealand in Dubai on 9 March that touched a peak concurrency of 122 million live viewers on TV and 61 million on JioHotstar, a record for Digital viewership in cricket," the release further added.

"The final also became the second-highest rated ODI in TV history [outside of ICC Cricket World Cup matches] with 230 million viewers tuning in for the live broadcast with 53 billion minutes of watch-time across TV & Digital platforms."

With the Champions Trophy triumph, the Rohit Sharma-led side now have two ICC titles in 10 months, following their T20 World Cup win in June last year. They also finished runners-up to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup.