Mumbai: Sony Sports has revealed that the final day (17 August) of the second Test match between India and England played at Lords garnered close to eight million impressions. The final session of the match which had team England bundled out for 120 runs achieved an average viewership of 10.7 million impressions, said the channel.
The average rating for the series to date is almost 30 per cent higher than the 2018 series featuring the same teams. The average ratings grew by almost 70 per cent on the final day of the test.
“The viewership for ongoing England vs India test match series has been the highest for an away bilateral test match series featuring Indian cricket team in the past three years,” the channel said in a statement. "The ratings for the final day are the highest ever on a pay sports channel for a test match day featuring the Indian team playing away from home. The final session of the match was one of the most-watched test match sessions in recent years," it added.
After a draw in the first test match at Trent Bridge due to rain, team India played the England team at Lords. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma gave a strong start followed by an 89-run partnership between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj took home four wickets on the last day securing India’s first victory in the test series.
“The India tour of England series has always been a high–profile test series and has lived up to both advertiser and viewer expectations. And after India’s thrilling win at Lords, more brands have come on board Sony Sports channels and look forward to reaching out to their target audiences and leverage on the huge buzz the series is generating,” said the channel.
Sony Sports roped in 12 sponsors including Mahindra & Mahindra, Byju’s, Pan Bahar, PharmEasy, Fogg, WhatsApp, Samsung, MRF, Cars 24, Ultratech, Airtel, and Kent for India’s tour of England.
(Source: BARC, All India, U+R, CS 2+, Day-wise impressions on pay sports channels)