[Update] India Vs New Zealand Semi-Final Match Records 5.3 Crore Concurrent Viewers on Disney+ Hotstar

Update: With India beating New Zealand in the semi-finals of Men's ICC World Cup 2023 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, Disney+ Hotstar has touched another milestone. From 5.1 crore viewership in the first innings, Disney+ Hotstar recorded a whopping 5.3 crore concurrent viewership while the New Zealand team was chasing India's mammoth target of 398. With this, India vs New Zealand has set a new record of 5.3 crore concurrent views during the match on the platform. 

Now that India has entered the ICC Men's ODI cricket World Cup finals after 2011, we can expect another concurrent milestone for Disney+ Hotstar on Sunday when the host nation plays the winner of the Australia and South Africa match. 

In a statement, Sajith Sivanandan - Head of Disney+ Hotstar India, said, “It's not just Team India breaking records with their 10th straight win at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. Indian fans are also tuning into Disney+ Hotstar in unprecedented numbers. Their incredible passion has led us to shatter the peak concurrency record four times during this tournament, setting new benchmarks in live sports streaming. The 5.3 cr concurrent viewers for India's semifinal against New Zealand exceeds the combined population of Australia and New Zealand by more than 1.5 times! This milestone is not just a triumph of technology but a testament to our viewers' unwavering support. With the final just around the corner, we look forward to bringing the nation together to witness the making of sporting history."

Original story: 

A new match and a new record! Disney+ Hotstar on Wednesday set a new viewership record during the India-New Zealand match for the second time during this World Cup 2023 campaign. The last time, the peak live concurrent viewers stood at 4.3 crore, which has been broken today. During the India vs New Zealand Semi-Finals, the live concurrent users crossed 50 million (5.1 crore to be exact).

This is not the first time the peak concurrent viewers record has been broken during this World Cup. The first instance was during the India vs Pakistan match on October 14, when the app recorded 3.5 crore concurrent viewers. It broke the record of 3.2 crore concurrent viewers during this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) title clash between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.

Moreover, the 3.5 crore concurrent viewership record was soon broken on October 22 during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and New Zealand. Disney+ Hotstar recorded 4.3 crore viewers during the match.

The credit for record-breaking peak concurrent viewership can be given to the decision of Disney+ Hotstar to stream the ICC Men's ODI Cricket World Cup for free in an ad-supported format. Of course, the move came after JioCinema's success during the IPL season earlier this year, which also streamed all matches on the platform for free.

It's worth noting that during the 2019 World Cup semi-final match, Hotstar set a record with 25.3 million concurrent viewers during the India vs New Zealand match.

What are the most exciting titles that gamers can look forward to in 2023? We discuss some of our favourites on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.