Star India’s highly engaging coverage across screens of the recently concluded Rio 2016 Olympic Games once again proves that when it comes to Sports, the broadcast network continues to set new global benchmarks in viewer experience and viewership numbers. The immersive and data rich experience backed by powerful visuals and marketing, has once again created history in terms of user delight, translating into the highest ever viewership of Olympics in India.

Star Sports

As the official television broadcaster in India, Star Sports brought the game alive and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was bigger than ever before with an unprecedented 191 mn* viewers tuning in to watch the games. Two out of every three viewers tuned in to watch the mega event on the Star Sports network, thus re-establishing its credentials as one of the leading sports networks in India capable of delivering national impact across geographies and demographics.

Hotstar, the exclusive digital streaming partner in India for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, on the other hand, which provided round the clock coverage of the games with 14 live streams for sports fans, established new online records. The digital platform attracted nearly 70 percent of the reach of television in affluent homes in the top 6 metros. The platform delivered an incremental reach of almost 10 million viewers in India with viewers streaming almost an hour of the Games during the two weeks, propelling Olympics into the top brackets of sporting events covered online.

The standout highlight of the tournament was when India came together to watch the thrilling badminton women’s singles final between PV Sindhu and Spain’s Carolina Marin. The grueling encounter garnered 17.2mn impressions*, making it the highest viewed TV programme on that day. It was also the highest rated non-cricket game on any Sports network since the inception of BARC. On Hotstar, more than 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the match live, unprecedented for any event outside of international cricket.

Nitin Kukreja, CEO, Star Sports said, “For us, it is a matter of pride that Star Sports is the destination network for multi sports consumption in the country. Our endeavour to build a multi sports ecosystem is being rewarded with audience interest and attention not just in cricket but even in other sports. We expect this to further gather momentum with the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad, the forthcoming season of the Indian Super League and the home cricket season for team India. Catering to the ever growing demands of the Television viewers and new-age digital sports fans, Star India’s unprecedented reach made the Rio 2016 Olympic Games the most epic sporting event in the history of viewing sports in India.”

Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar says, “As the world celebrated its sports champions, Hotstar enabled an experience that was unprecedented for sports fans not just in India but anywhere in the world: free access to almost every single moment of the Olympics fans with big moments being curated and showcased on the platform round the clock. Olympics allowed us to showcase our mission of building India’s most exciting content destination on demand.”

Star Sports had given unprecedented coverage to the Olympics with multiple channels devoted to Olympics broadcast. Further, it launched a highly appreciated campaign #IsseBadaKuchNahi focused on the stature of the Olympics as well as the medal prospects from India.

Star Sports, which has some of the most premier sporting properties in its portfolio, has been assiduously creating a multi-sport ecosystem in India. In 2016, from the ICC World T20 to Seasons 3 & 4 of Pro Kabaddi to the recently concluded Olympics, new benchmarks have been set with each of these events delivering in excess of 175 million* audiences at an all India level (Source: BARC). Further in the year ahead, Star Sports has an enviable multi-sport calendar coming up, consisting of 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad, the international cricket season at home for team India and the Indian Super League.

Hotstar, having already established itself as the premier digital sports destination in India, offered the widest possible coverage of all 42 sports with over 3000 hours of live coverage on the web, and 14+ streams running on the app all day. Its communication was focused on the massive choice it offered sports fans, with access to every moment of the Olympics and the convenience of watching live games or catching up on big performances any time of the day.

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* Source: BARC, CS 4+ Urban

Tags: Hotstar, Olympic Games, Olympics, Rio 2016, Sports, Sports Fans, Star India, Star Sports