The early numbers from the Women’s ODI World Cup have dropped – and they’re big. According to the ICC, the India v Pakistan match on 5 October pulled in “a reach of 28.4 million and 1.87 billion minutes consumed, making it the most-watched women’s international cricket match of all time”. That single line tells most of the story, yet the wider picture is just as striking.
Across the opening 11 fixtures, supporters have tuned in at rates the women’s game hasn’t seen before. The same ICC release speaks of “record-breaking numbers across digital and linear platforms”, with overall reach touching 72 million – “a 166% increase from the previous edition”. Put another way, “viewing minutes surged 327% to 6.3 billion”.
Those figures relate to television and streaming combined. On the ground, crowds have been excellent whenever the hosts are involved, while neutral encounters – especially in Colombo when neither Sri Lanka nor India are playing – have been a touch quieter, sometimes dipping into the low thousands. Wet afternoons in the capital haven’t helped, mind.
Digging a little deeper, data compiled by the ICC and JioHotstar suggests momentum is still building. “The first 13 matches of the tournament have already reached over 60 million viewers, a five-fold increase over the 2022 edition, while total watch-time has hit 7 billion minutes, up 12 times from the previous tournament,” the statement notes. And there was yet another milestone on 12 October: the India v Australia clash “recorded 4.8 million peak concurrent viewers on JioHotstar, another all-time high for women’s cricket”.
Former India international Anjum Chopra isn’t shocked. “Put two passionate fan-bases together and give them meaningful games, the numbers will follow,” she said on broadcast duty. Australia coach Shelley Nitschke struck a similar chord: “It feels busy, louder – the girls notice. That’s only good for the sport.”
All this matters because ratings drive investment. More eyeballs generally mean better broadcast deals, bigger sponsorships and, ultimately, improved pathways for young players eyeing a professional future. The current tournament still has over a fortnight left, semi-finals and final included, so the record book might need yet more blank pages before it’s all done.
