Gqeberha – The 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup staged in South Africa in February recorded 192 million global viewing hours, 44% more than the previous WT20 World Cup.
South Africa uniquely hosted the 2023 women’s T20 World Cup in three beautiful coastal cities – Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha.
This was right after South Africa successfully hosted the first ever Under-19 women’s T20 World Cup in the northern region of the country.
Both tournaments played a vital role in preserving and promoting women’s cricket in the country.
Most importantly, the events created a long-term legacy for women’s cricket in South Africa, inspiring a new generation of girls and boys to pick up a bat and ball.
The senior women’s version set a new record as far as global viewership is concerned.
Over the course of the tournament, 192 million global viewing hours were recorded as fans all around the world tuned in on their TV screens and mobile devices.
The South Africans, in particular, improved their viewership numbers by 690% compared to the previous WT20 World Cup.
The country was made proud by the Proteas women’s team when they qualified for the final – which is South Africa’s first and only appearance in a World Cup final.
As a result, South Africans filled up the iconic Newlands Cricket Stadium and cheered the two teams on throughout the match.
There were also impressive increases of engagement in India with total live viewing hours across linear TV and digital platforms up 57% from 2020.
In the United Kingdom, the total live viewing hours of the World Cup was 6.9 million, up 26% from 2020 and 16% from the 2018 event, making it the most watched ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to date.
“The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 broadcast and digital numbers are another example of the excellent progress that is being made to accelerate the growth of women’s cricket,” said ICC Chief Executive, Geoff Allardice.
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IOL Sport