The ongoing season of the IPL has been breaking all the viewership records this year due to the matches taking place behind closed doors.
The entire tournament is taking place in the United Arab Emirates due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country. IPL 13 hit the headlines after the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings saw a viewership of 20 crores.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has said that he isn’t surprised with the surge in the viewership since the spectators are not allowed in the stadium.
“Unbelievable and I am not surprised at all. When we were discussing with Star (official broadcasters of the Dream11 IPL 2020) and all the people concerned – if we have to do it this year and one month prior to the tournament, we were contemplating, whether this can happen or not, what will be the ultimate result of the bio-bubble and will it be successful,” Ganguly told on Star Sports.
“We decided to move ahead with our plan because we wanted to bring normalcy to everyone’s lives and wanted to bring the game back. I am not surprised by the feedback. This is the best tournament in the world,” he added.
An estimated 269 million viewers tuned in to watch the matches in the opening week of the IPL with an average viewership of 11 million per match.
As per BARC-Nielsen report, the opening week of the tournament saw a growth of 15 percent in the viewing minutes compared to last season.
The tournament is approaching its end with the playoffs to kickstart from the next week and finals on November 10.
