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

There are several reasons why the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was a successful competition. According to an ICC announcement, the competition had 23% more viewers than the 2023 ODI World Cup, and India won for the first time since 20113.

The just finished tournament’s India vs. Pakistan match, predictably, also garnered a 10.8% higher TV rating than the two teams’ 2023 World Cup meeting.

“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,” according to an ICC press statement.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad had a television rating of 19.5 billion linear viewing minutes, whereas

The Champions Trophy match had 26.5 billion minutes.

The chartbuster had a remarkable 10.8% higher rating than the 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 India-New Zealand final was also one of the most watched games in recent memory.

“The event’s live broadcast was watched for an incredible 137 billion minutes on Star Sports and 110 billion minutes on JioHotstar. The massive statistics were brought about by the India-New Zealand final, which took place in Dubai on March 9 and reached a peak concurrency of 122 million live viewers on TV and 61 million on JioHotstar, setting a record for digital cricket viewership, the release continued.

“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.”

The team lead by Rohit Sharma won the Champions Trophy, giving them two ICC titles in ten months after winning the T20 World Cup in June of last year. They also placed second in the 2023 ODI World Cup, behind Australia.