RCB create history on and off field with massive IPL viewership milestone

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their 18-year wait and won their first-ever IPL trophy, while the historic RCB victory broke viewership records in IPL history. The IPL 2025 final between RCB and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) captured the imagination of cricket fans across the country, and viewership reached all-time highs. Since 2008, Virat Kohli has represented the franchise, and he was instrumental in creating the higher emotional value and engagement of the match, which benefited audiences throughout.

The grand final began with a considerable digital viewership of 4.3 crore, but this was just the start; viewership exploded from there. The explosive start by Phil Salt and his dismissal shortly thereafter by Shreyas Iyer had viewer numbers climb. By the 11th over, more than 11 crore viewers were switched on, and with Kohli's exhilarating dismissal for a mark of 43 runs, the viewership peaked at 26.5 crore. Jitesh Sharma's counterattack during the innings saw viewer numbers climb above the 30 crore mark, and when RCB crumbled during the last few overs of PBKS', viewership escalated to 34.7 crore by the end of the innings. By the time RCB posted a total of 190 runs, digital viewership measures were already above 35 crore.

Punjab Kings began their chase with intent but were brought back to earth with Krunal Pandya's early breakthrough of Prabhsimran Singh, which had everyone on the field and , especially in front of the tele, electrified. Moments following the wicket, viewership suddenly spiked to 50 crore with RCB fans chanting slogans from the stands inside Narendra Modi Stadium. As the game progressed into its climax, the viewing audience spiked further, reaching 55 crore by the end of the 14th over. Following the win, the total viewership reached a whopping 67.8 crore.

Digital and Television Viewership Break New Ground

While IPL 2025 will forever live on in history for RCB's victory, it will also be memorable for new benchmarks in how cricket is consumed digitally. On its opening weekend, there were an incredible 4,956 crore minutes of cumulative watch time. The first three matches were able to accrue 137 crore views and increase connected TV (CTV) usage by 54% and peak concurrent viewership to 3.4 crore. Year over year, digital viewing grew by 40%, demonstrating the growth of IPL's OTT audience is sharper than any other platform.

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Traditional television audiences followed suit. According to the BARC, IPL matches were viewed by over 25.3 crore people in the opening weekend alone, accruing a total watch time of 2,770 crore minutes - a 22% increase from IPL 2024. On the world stage, the IPL final's digital reach exceeded that of many of cricket's biggest occasions, including the India vs. Pakistan ICC Championship match that attracted 60 crore digital views and the Champions Trophy Final, which saw 6.1 crore simultaneous viewers. The IPL 2025 finale now stands as the biggest live sports event in Indian streaming history.