At the end of February, fans worldwide were treated to another record from a cricket match between India and Pakistan. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash between the two neighbours attracted a mammoth 600 million views on the OTT streaming platform JioHotstar, marking a milestone for the game.
Those who follow cricket, especially the politically, economically, and commercially charged clashes between the subcontinental giants, will not find this surprising. After all, the two countries have barely played outside of ICC's global events since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and this rarity is what makes their clashes so must-see for fans on both sides of the border.
Reaching over 600 million views for a match is no mean feat. Perhaps only a clash between India and Pakistan — carrying with it hundreds of years of history and shared love for the 'Gentleman's Game' — could do so when it comes to cricket, which remains insulated to certain regions in terms of player and audience base.
Cricket matches clearly have the capacity to reach a substantial number of viewers when the circumstances are right. In that case, why does the ever-growing livestreaming industry not take advantage of this clear ability to draw in viewers, something other sports like football, boxing, and American football have done so well?
To answer this question, we need to understand the dynamics and demographics of the game. For one, cricket was invented in England and was spread across the Commonwealth countries during the heights of the British Empire.
Of the long list of countries from the erstwhile colonial era, the Indian subcontinent took to the game of bat and ball like a duck to water. That is why nations like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have done so well as cricketing nations.
However, this has also meant that, due to the relative economic shortcomings of these countries, the broadcasting dynamics remain dependent on the television market. Most households in the subcontinent operate close to or below the poverty line, so access to facilities like a computer or a smartphone with fast internet services remains a hurdle.
There is also the rural/urban divide, with most of the population still residing in the former setting, depending mostly on agriculture-related activities to make ends meet. This has meant that basic living conditions like three square meals a day, proper sanitation, access to appropriate education and public services, and transportation to these facilities continue to be the biggest challenges, even if the love for the game remains high.
All these factors have shaped the way the International Cricket Council (ICC), the international body, operates in terms of finances and broadcasting rights. One of these dynamics is that the game continues to rely heavily on the TV market to reach a majority of its audience base, which comes from the subcontinent and the relatively poorer nations in the Caribbean.
This also stretches to more developed cricketing countries like New Zealand, Australia, England, and South Africa. Most of the revenue generated by the game's broadcasts comes from TV rights deals in these regions as well, which has meant that the shift to livestreaming has been slow (and at times been met with resistance by the admittedly rigid world and national bodies).
With television and digital streaming becoming a billion-dollar industry, the sports’ caretakers have appeared hesitant to move away from something that lucrative and adopt the more viewer-friendly approach that comes with live broadcasting on services like Twitch and YouTube despite its popularity.
Apart from the off-field reasons listed above, there are several factors that relate to the game and its rules, including the length of matches and the complexity of playing it. When operating under the longest of its three formats, cricket matches can last for up to five days, which is much longer than most other sporting events. This can make it difficult to attract and retain viewers on livestreaming platforms, where viewers are used to shorter, more fast-paced content.
Cricket is also a complex game with a lot of rules and nuances. This can make it difficult for new audiences to understand and follow the action. As a result, the game may not be as appealing to casual viewers as other sports, such as football or boxing.
Finally, and perhaps the most pertinent point that bears repeating, is that cricket has not yet developed a strong tradition of online streaming. While there are some cricket channels on YouTube and other platforms outside of South Asia, they have not yet achieved the same level of popularity as channels dedicated to other sports.
Speaking of YouTube, most cricket content channels are hosted on this livestreaming platform. Many of the most successful ones come from nations with strong cricket legacies, such as India, Australia, and Pakistan.
It helps that these countries also contribute a huge chunk of the game's viewership, be it on digital streaming platforms or traditional media like TV. Some of the game's most successful players have also come from these nations, meaning that audiences tend to gravitate toward their channels and streamers.
Of course, with the vast wealth at their disposal and the availability of the best technology, these countries should be at the forefront of cricket's move toward more livestreaming content. In that sense, the sport has lagged behind, but there have been recent signs that this is starting to change.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in online cricket match streaming. This is due in part to the increasing popularity of T20 cricket, a shorter format of the game that is more suited to online viewing. A lot more content creators with deep knowledge of the sport have also begun providing live commentary of games; although this does not equate to co-casting live matches, it does become a form of what Western audiences know as organising watch parties.
Most cricket channels also rarely livestream the entire game to avoid breaking any broadcasting rules. Viewers are instead treated to a host or a studio team providing live commentary, with crucial stats like team lineups, recent form, and head-to-head records displayed on the screen.
Of course, a few channels do upload highlights once the match is over for those who could not catch the live action. That is the closest they will come to showing footage of what happened between the two teams.
These channels also use other means to keep things interesting for audiences, such as fan reactions and interviews, chats with some of the team's players, and commentary from pundits (usually former players). A certain feature of subcontinental channels when it comes to live cricket is to talk about previous meetings, especially those with historical significance.
To conclude, as cricket continues to grow in popularity and looks to shed its conservative habits and embrace more modern habits, we will likely see streamers and organizations shift toward more content on livestreaming services as they look to capitalise on the industry's high demand. This could help to introduce the sport to a new generation of fans and further increase its global reach, which has been the stated aim of the game's global body for a few years.