Viacom18 paid ₹23,758 crore for the IPL's digital streaming rights for 2023 to 2027. Then it gave the 2023 season away: matches on its JioCinema app were free to watch. The previous streaming partner had kept the IPL behind a paywall. (One crore is 10 million.)
Free meant the audience wasn't limited to people who had paid. Anyone with the app could turn up, and they did. The season opener, Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans, peaked at 1.6 crore viewers watching at the same moment. JioCinema registered over 2.5 crore downloads in a single day, which it called a record for the most installed app in one day.
Then the record kept climbing:
- 12 April: about 2.2 crore at once, as Dhoni's CSK nearly pulled off a win against Rajasthan Royals
- 17 April: about 2.4 crore, for CSK against Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Qualifier 2: over 2.57 crore, during Shubman Gill's century in Gujarat Titans against Mumbai Indians
The final, CSK against Gujarat Titans, was hit by rain and rescheduled to a Monday. JioCinema reported a peak of 3.21 crore concurrent viewers, which it called a new world record, and more than 12 crore unique viewers for the match. Before this season, the record had been over 2.5 crore simultaneous viewers, set in July 2019.
Across the season, JioCinema reported over 1,700 crore video views, 17 simultaneous feeds in 12 languages including 4K, and an average of more than 60 minutes watched per viewer per match.
- ₹23,758 crore for the 2023–2027 digital rights, then free to watch
- 1.6 crore at once at the opener; 3.21 crore at the final
- Over 2.5 crore app downloads in a single day
- More than 12 crore unique viewers for the final
Why it matters: Making something free changes who shows up, and how many at once. Plan capacity for the whole possible audience, not the share you expect to pay, and expect each big match to set a new peak.