According to International Cricket Council (ICC), the Women's T20 World Cup was the most watched ICC women's event to date with global viewing hours reaching 192 million, a 44 percent increase from the 2020 World Cup in Australia.The Proteas women's team, playing in a senior World Cup on home soil for the first time, fell 19 runs short at a sold-out Newlands final, which saw defending champions Australia claim their sixth T20 World Cup title.
Broadcast figures in the host nation saw a 130% increase in live coverage, including the final in which a South African senior cricket team, men's or women's, competed for the first time ever.
This South African achievement was in large part responsible for a lasting legacy of women's cricket in the country.Overall viewership figures for the event shattered past records.
Fans tuning in to enjoy the cricket on display increased by 790%, compared to the previous edition in 2020.Despite India not reaching the final, the country's live viewing hours across linear TV and digital platforms increased by 57%, with the most watched match in the subcontinental country being India and Pakistan's group match which was won by seven wickets by the women in blue.In the United Kingdom, the total live viewing hours of the World Cup was 6.9 million, up 26% from 2020 and 16% from the 2018 event, making it the most watched ICC Women's T20 World Cup to date.On ICC's digital channels there was an uplift of 26% video views across all channels with the global showpiece achieving 1.39 billion video views compared to 1.1 billion for the 2020 edition Down Under.Across the ICC website and app, the T20 World Cup attracted the highest-ever audience for a women's event with 12.5m unique users across both