The group stage of the 2020 ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup set new television and digital records to become the most watched women’s cricket event ever, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
A record 701 million video views were clocked across the ICC’s digital and social platforms, smashing the figure of 100 million views achieved during the entire 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The official tournament social channels attracted 34 million engagements and more than two billion impressions with fans.
In terms of television viewing figures, two of the biggest spikes came from hosts and eventual winners Australia and runners-up India, who saw domestic increases in viewing minutes of 1,600 per cent and 213 per cent respectively.
Australia’s opening game became the second most watched women’s match in the country with a combined average audience of 448,000 across pay-TV network Fox Sports and public broadcaster the Nine Network.
For India’s opening game against Australia, the country’s domestic broadcaster Star Sports achieved a reach of 20 million and an average audience of 3.55 million, which is 39 per cent higher than the most watched match at the 2018 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
The first 12 matches of this year’s tournament clocked 2.46 billion viewing minutes in India versus 787 million viewing minutes for the same matches in 2018, representing a 213 per cent increase.
The most watched match in the UK was England versus the West Indies with an average audience of 245,000 on pay-TV channel Sky Sports. This made it the second most watched international women’s match in the UK, beaten only by the 2017 Women’s World Cup final between England and India, which saw 460,000 viewers tune in.
All told, the tournament was broadcast in almost 160 territories through live and highlights television coverage, while live digital coverage on streaming platforms such as Hotstar in India reached more than 200 territories.
Bumper attendance figures were also achieved during the competition, with Sunday’s final attracting a tournament record 86,174 spectators at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This fell just short of the highest attended women’s sporting event ever when 90,185 watched the 1999 Fifa Women’s World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which saw the US defeat China on penalties.
In the six previous editions of the Women’s T20 World Cup, the highest final crowd came in 2009 when 12,717 watched England beat New Zealand in Sydney.
The successful figures from this year’s tournament came as the ICC unveiled 100% Cricket, a 12-month campaign designed to get more than one million girls playing the sport by 2021.
Initiatives for the campaign include a new school and community group participation programme, an accelerated growth programme delivered to targeted ICC members, support to member programmes focused on growing women’s cricket, and cricket for development programmes targeting women and girls.
The plans are all designed to help 100% Cricket showcase athletes, while ‘challenging perceptions, build heroes and create excitement’.
“I believe that we are at an inflection point for the women’s game,” said ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney. “In the last three years we have made significant strides in our efforts to grow and develop the game and have publicly stated our long-term commitment to reach parity across men’s and women’s cricket.
“100% Cricket is a platform to drive the conversation around the women’s game between the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the Women’s Cricket World Cup we’ve got coming up in New Zealand next year. We are also challenging everyone to get involved and make their own pledge to support 100% Cricket and #IDeclare the action they will take to drive the growth of the women’s game.”
The tournament's group stage clocked digital and TV recordsm while 86,174 fans attended the final.
The group stage of the 2020 ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup set new television and digital records to become the most watched women’s cricket event ever, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
A record 701 million video views were clocked across the ICC’s digital and social platforms, smashing the figure of 100 million views achieved during the entire 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
The official tournament social channels attracted 34 million engagements and more than two billion impressions with fans.
In terms of television viewing figures, two of the biggest spikes came from hosts and eventual winners Australia and runners-up India, who saw domestic increases in viewing minutes of 1,600 per cent and 213 per cent respectively.
Australia’s opening game became the second most watched women’s match in the country with a combined average audience of 448,000 across pay-TV network Fox Sports and public broadcaster the Nine Network.
For India’s opening game against Australia, the country’s domestic broadcaster Star Sports achieved a reach of 20 million and an average audience of 3.55 million, which is 39 per cent higher than the most watched match at the 2018 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
The first 12 matches of this year’s tournament clocked 2.46 billion viewing minutes in India versus 787 million viewing minutes for the same matches in 2018, representing a 213 per cent increase.
The most watched match in the UK was England versus the West Indies with an average audience of 245,000 on pay-TV channel Sky Sports. This made it the second most watched international women’s match in the UK, beaten only by the 2017 Women’s World Cup final between England and India, which saw 460,000 viewers tune in.
All told, the tournament was broadcast in almost 160 territories through live and highlights television coverage, while live digital coverage on streaming platforms such as Hotstar in India reached more than 200 territories.
Bumper attendance figures were also achieved during the competition, with Sunday’s final attracting a tournament record 86,174 spectators at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This fell just short of the highest attended women’s sporting event ever when 90,185 watched the 1999 Fifa Women’s World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which saw the US defeat China on penalties.
In the six previous editions of the Women’s T20 World Cup, the highest final crowd came in 2009 when 12,717 watched England beat New Zealand in Sydney.
The successful figures from this year’s tournament came as the ICC unveiled 100% Cricket, a 12-month campaign designed to get more than one million girls playing the sport by 2021.
Initiatives for the campaign include a new school and community group participation programme, an accelerated growth programme delivered to targeted ICC members, support to member programmes focused on growing women’s cricket, and cricket for development programmes targeting women and girls.
The plans are all designed to help 100% Cricket showcase athletes, while ‘challenging perceptions, build heroes and create excitement’.
“I believe that we are at an inflection point for the women’s game,” said ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney. “In the last three years we have made significant strides in our efforts to grow and develop the game and have publicly stated our long-term commitment to reach parity across men’s and women’s cricket.
“100% Cricket is a platform to drive the conversation around the women’s game between the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the Women’s Cricket World Cup we’ve got coming up in New Zealand next year. We are also challenging everyone to get involved and make their own pledge to support 100% Cricket and #IDeclare the action they will take to drive the growth of the women’s game.”
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