Football Comes of Age in India

Mumbai: Even as curtains come down on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, JioCinema heralds a new dawn as digital viewership went past TV in India for the first time for a global marquee sports event. A monumental 32mn viewers tuned in to JioCinema on the final day that delivered arguably the most extraordinary FIFA World Cup Final as Argentina picked the FIFA World Cup Trophy for the first time since 1986.

Over 110mn viewers consumed the content on digital, making India one of the highest digital viewership markets for the FIFA World Cup. On the back of nail-biting contests and riveting upsets, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 held India’s attention with a mammoth 40bn minutes of watch time being clocked across Sports18 and JioCinema, which continued to be the No. 1 downloaded free app on iOS and Android throughout the tournament.

The app’s rapid rise is attributed to the ever-increasing preference of consumers to watch the action on smartphones & connected TVs in India. JioCinema enhanced viewers’ live experience with a never-seen-before Hype Mode, empowering fans with unique offerings at their fingertips during a live match. It included a multi-cam view of the match, trivia and stats in real-time, and a Time Wheel that allows viewers to relive an unforgettable moment. 

The solid digital viewership of the event was supported by wide availability on multiple OEM and CTV platforms such as Jio STB, Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, Sony, Samsung, LG, and Xiaomi, among others. CTV viewers watched the world’s most prestigious football tournament in UHD 4K for the first time ever through JioCinema.

“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 Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj. “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.”

Fans were treated with a world-class studio on Sports18, and JioCinema adorned by an All-Star roster of World Cup heroes, including Wayne Rooney, Luis Figo, Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva and Sol Campbell.

Not just fans but brands that partnered with the world’s most prestigious football tournament on JioCinema and Sports18 garnered recall like never before. Over 50 brands across e-commerce, banking, financial services, auto, fashion, hospitality and fintech leveraged the quadrennial showpiece’s potential to reach their audience.