Dubai/Mumbai: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has set a new milestone in digital sports viewership after the semi-final between the India national cricket team and the England national cricket team created record-breaking streaming numbers.
The high-voltage clash on March 5 drew 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers on JioHotstar, marking the highest live-stream concurrency ever recorded for any digital event worldwide. The match also generated 619 million total views on the platform, making it the most-streamed T20 International match in history.
The thrilling encounter produced 499 runs across both innings, keeping cricket fans engaged across India and around the world. The peak viewership surpassed the previous global digital streaming record of 65 million concurrent viewers set in November 2024, highlighting the massive popularity of cricket and the strong digital reach of the platform.
Across both television and digital platforms, the semi-final achieved a combined reach of over 320 million viewers, while total watch time across screens exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most-watched T20 International match ever.
Jay Shah, Chairman of the International Cricket Council, said the massive audience numbers reflected the deep passion for cricket among fans. He added that the tournament continues to bring millions of people together and showcases how the sport is becoming increasingly accessible and engaging through modern broadcast and digital platforms.
Meanwhile, Uday Shankar, Vice-Chairman of JioStar, said the record-breaking viewership demonstrates the scale of cricket’s popularity and the importance of strong technology infrastructure to deliver seamless viewing experiences to hundreds of millions of fans.
The 619 million views recorded for the semi-final also surpassed the previous record of 533 million views set during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Final.
