IPL 17's opening day registers record-breaking viewership

Mumbai: The 17th edition of the IPL registered record-breaking viewership on the opening day with 16.8 crore people watching the glittering ceremony and the game, according to the host broadcaster.

Disney Star, the official broadcaster, said the opening day also registered a watch-time of 1,276 crore minutes— the highest-ever for the first day of any season.

The 17th season of IPL also witnessed the highest-ever peak TV concurrency for an opening day, with 6.1 crore viewers watching the broadcast simultaneously on the Disney Star network.

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets on the opening day of the ongoing IPL in Chennai on March 22.

"This is a monumental achievement, made possible by fans' love for Star Sports and an unwavering commitment of the network to 'serving fans'. We would also like to thank all our partners and extend heartfelt gratitude to the BCCI for their support of the wide array of initiatives that Star Sports has continually undertaken to grow Cricket and TATA IPL," a Star Sports spokesperson said in a release.

"This growth is a reaffirmation of the incomparable capacity of Live Cricket to aggregate audiences on TV and provides a blockbuster start to the tournament. We will continue to enrich the magic of one of the world's biggest sporting events to take forward the launch momentum and deliver unprecedented viewership."

The record-breaking TV viewership on the opening day comes on the back of an array of programmes in the lead-up to the 17th season which attracted more than 24.5 crore viewers till a week prior to the start of the tournament.