WTC Final becomes the most viewed Test match since 2018, reports BARC

The ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2021 which took place between New Zealand and India recently from June 18 to 23 had caught the attention of several Indian fans. According to data released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC), which is a television audience measurement service, the final was the most-viewed Test match since 2018. 

 The numbers suggest that the match was watched by 99 million people on TV. The average minute audience or AMA of the match was 7.4 million. According to BARC, AMA is defined as the number of individuals of a target audience who view an event, averaged across minutes.

The official broadcaster of the ICC WTC Final was Star Sports along with DD Sports. As this was a huge game, the broadcaster had expected a strong response from the viewers and as well as advertisers. 

India-England series had clocked the highest Test match viewership in the last four years

“After a long wait of 144 years, a world champion for Tests will be crowned and this makes the WTC Final a marquee property. We are expecting the WTC Finals to be the most-watched game, keeping in mind the weekend and also a prime time slot – the attention and pent-up demand are something advertisers are capitalizing on,” Anil Jayaraj, Executive Vice President, Star Sports was quoted by Moneycontrol. 

There were estimates that an Indian win would boost viewership. Despite Virat Kohli and co. losing, the TV viewership didn’t fall down. Jayaraj used the India-England Test series earlier this year as an example to explain the increase in viewership. According to him, the Indian team has driven people’s attention to Test cricket with their performances. 

“First with their win in Australia and then their victory against England at home. Their performance during the India-England series resulted in receiving the highest Test match viewership in the last four years,” Jayaraj said. 

The Test series between India and England recorded a total reach of 103 million viewers. The opening match of that series had in fact had a reach of 26 million viewers. ‘Reach’ refers to the total number of individuals who viewed the event for at least one minute. With all these numbers, it is safe to say at this point, that neither is Test cricket dying or its viewership.