ICC T20 World Cup 2026| Significant spike in viewership as it crosses 500 million: 'I'm humbled,' says Jay Shah

The viewership for the event in India has crossed 500 million, the highest-ever registered in history for any T20 World Cup.

The ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup 2026 has seen significant spike in terms of viewership, which has crossed the 500-million mark,

ICC Chairman Jay Shah said that the viewership recorded is the highest-ever in the history of the marquee event.

The tournament was deemed the most global and accessible, with significant viewership growth driven by high-stakes matches and digital consumption, goals the ICC set out to achieve before the start of the event.

"The journey of the @ICC #T20WorldCup 2026 began with the ambition to make it the most #global & #accessible Cricket event ever. I am humbled that viewership for the event in India has crossed 500 million, the highest ever for any T20 World Cup in history," Shah posted on X.

"It was also heartening to see concurrent viewers @JioHotstar hit a peak of 60.5 million. With knock-out matches for the tournament starting tonight, we hope that the immeasurable love our events receive from Indian fans helps break more records."

The two semifinals and the final of the tournament are yet to played, but it has already crossed the figures recorded in the last edition of the event in USA and West Indies in 2024.

These figures follow the massive success of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which had previously broken records with 250 billion minutes of watch-time and a 122 million peak on TV.

Co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 which began on February 7 will end with the final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (March 8).

The tournament has seen some close contests including the India vs West Indies Super 8s thriller at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

(With ICC Media inputs)