The opening game of inaugural season of The Hundred has become the most watched women’s cricket match in the history of UK as it witnessed a peak audience of 1.95 million.
The peak time BBC Two broadcast drew in a high of 1.6 million viewers. Also, more than 180,000 live streams on iPlayer and BBC Sport online was witnessed for the opener.
An ECB statement said 3.8 million people were engaged for a minimum of three minutes, with 35 per cent of all viewers said to be female – a key part of the competition’s inclusivity pitch.
2.5 million viewers tuned in for the first men’s game on Sky and BBC, the ECB added.
Also, a report by Nielsen Sports said that the opening women’s affair witnessed 36 percent of its audience who were female. On the other hand, the opening men’s match saw 39 percent women and 12 percent under 25-year-olds making up an average audience of 1.215 million – which peaked at two million on the BBC.
Sanjay Patel, managing director of The Hundred, said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better start to The Hundred – a thrilling match which went down to the wire, a brilliant atmosphere inside the crowd with lots of families and children, and record figures watching at home.”
“The Hundred is all about throwing cricket’s doors open for everyone, and the response to last night’s game has been remarkable. We know this is only the first game and there is a still a lot of hard work ahead. We’re grateful to Sky for their long-term support for English cricket and especially The Hundred and are excited by the partnership with them and the BBC helping us to reach a broader audience.”