Qatar World Cup 2022: Football Comes of Age in India with record viewership on JioCinema for Grand Finale
Qatar World Cup 2022: Argentina is the world champion, winning its historic third title after beating France on penalties on Sunday. Meanwhile, 32 million onlookers tuned in to JioCinema to watch it unfold as the sport came of age in India.
FollowThe curtains have come down on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Meanwhile, JioCinema is celebrating a new dawn in digital viewership. It has surpassed the television viewership for the first time in India, considering any international marquee sports event. A gigantic herd of 32 million onlookers tuned in to JioCinema on Sunday, seeing arguably the most memorable FIFA World Cup Final unfold to date, with Argentina lifting the coveted trophy for the first time since 1986 when late-great Diego Maradona was the last Argentine to lay his hands on it.
More than 110 million viewers caught the content digitally, making India one of the most heightened digital viewership markets for the FIFA World Cup. With nail-biting battles and heart-breaking drubbings, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar had India’s attention glued with a massive 40 billion minutes of watch time across Sports18 and JioCinema. Also, the latter became the number one downloaded free app across iOS and Android throughout the competition.
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The instantaneous rise of the app indicated the ever-rising consumer preference for watching sporting action on smartphones & smart TVs in India. JioCinema sweetened the live game-watching experience for the observers with the so-called Hype Mode. It entrusted fans with unique amenities while watching a live contest, including the game’s multi-cam view, real-time stats and trivia. It also possessed a Time Wheel, allowing the observers to relive any extraordinary moment.
The event’s strong digital viewership was backed by its broad availability on numerous OEM and CTV platforms, like Jio STB, Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, Sony, Samsung, LG, Xiaomi and more. CTV viewers oversaw the most prestigious global football event in UHD 4K for the first time via JioCinema.
Commenting on the broadcast success, Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj said, “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. This demonstrates the power of digital and the preference viewers and fans have shown to consume their favourite events, which will now see Paris Saint-Germain teammates and FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe and FIFA World Cup and Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi join forces in the Ligue1.”
Buffs also witnessed a world-class studio on Sports18 and JioCinema along with the All-Star roster of legendary FIFA World Cup heroes, like Wayne Rooney, Luis Figo, Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva and Sol Campbell.
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Alongside fanatics, brands partnered with the world’s most prestigious football event on JioCinema and Sports18, attracting a recall like never before. Over 50 brands across e-commerce, banking, financial services, auto, fashion, hospitality and fintech made the quadrennial showpiece a colossal success with the potential of reaching its audiences.
