32 Mn Viewers Tune Into Football World Cup Final On JioCinema

As Argentina lifted the trophy on December 18, as many as 32 Mn viewers tuned in to the FIFA World Cup Final on Reliance-backed streaming platform JioCinema.

According to the company, the entire World Cup recorded more than 40 Bn minutes of watch time on its sports channel, Sports18, and JioCinema. 

More than 50 brands across ecommerce, banking, financial services, auto, fashion, hospitality and fintech sectors advertised on the two platforms during the high-profile event.

In a statement, JioCinema said that over 110 Mn viewers consumed content related to the Football World Cup via digital avenues, making India one of the biggest digital viewership markets for the tournament in the world.

“We promised to give consumers easy access to the world-class presentation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and on the back of that, the tournament became the most-watched global sports event on digital where India has not participated,” said chief executive officer (CEO) of Viacom18 Sports Anil Jayaraj.

The company also claimed that JioCinema emerged as the most downloaded free app on Apple and Google app marketplaces during the tournament. The media conglomerate attributed the app’s growth to increasing user preference of watching the World Cup on smartphones and connected TVs in the country. 

Marred By Tech Glitches?

Even as JioCinema posted hefty numbers, the broadcast on the streaming platform, at the outset, was heavily marred by technical glitches. The opening match of the tournament left many exasperated due to buffering issues on the platform.

Many even took to Twitter to raise their concerns, citing the poor quality of the broadcast on the JioCinema app. 

It is pertinent to note that JioCinema is the only digital platform in the country to broadcast the FIFA World Cup. Viacom18 won the media rights to broadcast the FIFA World Cup in India last year.

The viewership numbers also come close on the heels of the reports that RIL-backed media conglomerate Viacom18 was looking to bring its various digital streaming platforms, such as JioCinema, VOOT, VOOT Select and VOOT Kids, under one super app.

Playing second fiddle to cricket, football has emerged as a high-profile sporting event in the country. As per BARC data, the cumulative reach for the first 48 matches on cable and satellite networks stood at around 42.2 Mn. 

These numbers were largely led by viewers from Kerala (13.1 Mn), West Bengal (8.69 Mn), North-East India (7.1 Mn), Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (2.7 Mn), and Maharashtra and Goa (2.3 Mn).