32 million viewers tuned in to watch FIFA World Cup final, JioCinema

As the curtain came down on the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the JioCinema app hit an all-time high, going past television in India for the first time for a global marquee sports event. The JioCinema app was the exclusive streaming partner for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in India.

In its release, the company stated that as many as 32 million viewers tuned in to the JioCinema app as Argentina bested the 2018 World Cup champion France in the tournament’s final game. Argentina won the FIFA World Cup trophy for the first time since 1986 and Lionel Messi joins the likes of Passarella and Maradona as a World Cup-winning captain for the side.

However, Argentina and Messi weren’t the only ones who came out on top as the JioCinema app saw over 110 million viewers, making India one of the highest digital viewership markets for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Additionally, Indian viewers consumed over 40 billion minutes during the World Cup across Sports18 and JioCinema.

Throughout the duration of the tournament, from November 20 to December 18, the JioCinema app was the number one free app downloaded on Android and iOS. The rise of the app’s popularity is attributed to the ever-increasing preference of consumers to watch the action on smartphones and connected TVs in India.

Moreover, JioCinema also offered viewers a unique experience with a new Hype Mode, providing unique offerings to fans during a live match including multi-cam view of the match, trivia, stats in real-time, and a Time Wheel. Additionally, JioCinema also leveraged Viacom 18 Sports’ partnership with Snap Inc, offering users a voice-activated augmented reality (AR) lens around the matches on Snapchat’s Discover platform.

Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj said, “We promised to give consumers easy access to the world-class presentation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and on the back of that, the tournament became the most-watched global sports event on digital where India has not participated. This demonstrates the power of digital and the preference viewers and fans have shown to consume their favourite events, which will now see Paris Saint-Germain teammates and FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe and FIFA World Cup and Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi join forces in the Ligue1.”

Additionally, Sports18 and JioCinema users also got an excellent studio experience with punditry handled by Wayne Rooney, Luis Figo, Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva, and Sol Campbell. Apart from the fans, over 50 brands across e-commerce, banking, financial services, auto, fashion, hospitality, and fintech also partnered with JioCinema and Sports18 for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Moneycontrol