On Tuesday, i.e. on April 10th, the match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was surely thrilling but as the match ended, a new global record was set in case of online viewership, by Hotstar, which is Star’s Digital Content Streaming platform and Akamai, the world’s largest cloud delivery platform.
Viewership during that match touched 5.5 million concurrent viewers. This is the largest on the Akamai platform for any live sporting event in the world and the largest for any single event online by a broadcaster. Earlier, the highest viewership count was 4.8 million, established by Hotstar, during the India and Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy Final in June 2017. The concurrent viewership of VIVO IPL 2018 on Hotstar even exceeded the peak viewership of 4.6 million for the streaming of the inauguration ceremony of the U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2017.
Before this season of IPL, Hotstar has made sure that watching a game becomes immersive and entertaining experiences with features like Watch’NPlay, VR, and social features.
Commenting on this grand achievement, Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar said, “Crossing 5 million on a live sporting event is like breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100-meter dash. We are proud that we are the first to get here. But, of even more importance, we are excited that fans have embraced the immersive sports experience on Hotstar that has brought together live streaming, the expression of fan emotions and an interactive always-on game. This is the future of video online and we are excited to shape it. At this scale, we will be clearly testing the ability of different parts of the Internet to keep up with the dramatic growth in fan followership. And, we are delighted that Akamai has been a partner that has always walked in step with our ambitions and delivered the scale that we seek.”
While Parimal Pandya, Vice President, Media, APJ, Akamai Technologies said, “Hotstar is one of the pioneers in the live streaming industry in India, and has changed the way hundreds of millions of people consume content. With the hyper growth of mobile-first users, it’s important that platforms catering to them factor in the right technology to provide an experience that rivals, if not supersedes, a traditional broadcast experience. Akamai’s partnership with Hotstar has changed how people enjoy a variety of content ranging from general entertainment to live sports anytime, anywhere and on any device.”
Vivo IPL steps into its 11th edition this year started on 7th April and is a 60-day tournament that will conclude on 27th May. Hotstar is streaming the whole tournament in six different languages including English and Hindi, along with regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada.
