JioCinema is celebrating a new record as digital viewership overtook cable TV for the first time during a global sports season, the service said. According to the telecom company, a whopping 32 million viewers tuned into its JioCinema website and phone app during the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, which Argentina defeated France in a thrilling contest that stretched to a penalty shoot-out . Meanwhile, 110 million viewers watched the World Cup final on digital platforms, making India one of the “highest digital viewership markets” for the global event.
That said, it’s worth mentioning yo has not offered a clear definition of how viewership is calculated. On the first two days of FIFA World Cup 2022, several users reported problems while trying to stream the games on JioCinema website and app. While Gadgets 360 was able to confirm that the app worked normally for the finals, it’s not clear if the numbers were based on clicks or if the page was open for an undetermined number of minutes.
According to Jio, the audience consumed a total of “40 billion mammoth minutes” of watch time JioCinema and the sports18 Channel. The company also claims that the app “continues to be the most downloaded” software iOS and Android throughout the tournament. “We promised to provide consumers with easy access to the world-class presentation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and on the basis of that, the tournament became the most watched global sporting event in the digital realm that India has hosted [Indian football team] did not participate,” said Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj, in a prepared statement.
“This shows the power of digital and the preference viewers and fans have shown to consume their favorite events, which Paris Saint-Germain team-mates will now watch FIFA World Cup Golden Boot Winner Kylian Mbappe and winners of the FIFA World Cup and Golden Ball Lionel Messi join forces in the [French domestic] League1.”
Besides free live streams of FIFA World Cup 2022 matches, the JioCinema app also included a Hype mode that pops up with interesting trivia, squad line-ups and stats of the two teams playing live, with the added benefit of being able to rewind, to relive the main highlights. A multicam switcher was included with the JioCinema app Android TV Also, users can watch the game from different camera angles.
