Mumbai: Star Sports’ coverage of Legends League Cricket, played between 10 – 20 March in Qatar, has met with a tremendous response from cricket fans. The second edition of the League involving three teams representing regions – Indian Maharajas, Asia Lions and World Giants - was broadcast on the Disney Star network for the first time this year. The league saw a massive 104 per cent growth in viewership clocking 43.8 million viewers on TV for the first six matches of the eight-match tournament. The AMAs* also grew by 107 per cent compared to the previous edition in March 2022 (aired on a different network).
The addition of Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu feeds combined with Star Sports’ revered brand of storytelling spurred this growth, with these feeds contributing to 85.3 per cent of the viewership (Hindi – 69.3 per cent, Tamil – 8.1 per cent and Telugu – 7.9 per cent). In addition, the network’s marketing campaign celebrating individual rivalries from yesteryears supported by surround content amplifying nostalgia associated with the heroes, helped drive interest and anticipation for the tournament.
A Star Sports spokesperson, said, "We are thrilled with the response to Legends League cricket on Star Sports. We are selective in our choice of properties for the portfolio and partners we work with. With LLC, we saw a partner who shared the same growth ambition and passion for the game as us, as well as a property that had potential. The impressive viewership figures are a result of the tremendous efforts put in by the participating legends, LLC, and Star Sports to build the property, which is still in its infancy stage. It also demonstrates the continuing power of TV to aggregate audiences.”
The growth in viewership for Legends League cricket added to the streak of successes for Star Sports, which started with the historic viewership of the Asia Cup in September 2022 and was followed by remarkable viewership figures for ICC T20 World Cups (Men and Women) and India’s home season. With Tata IPL 2023 around the corner, Star Sports is geared to serve millions of cricket fans an unparalleled viewing experience on TV and break viewership records.
