Record numbers for ESPNcricinfo
April 19, 2016
ESPNcricinfo achieved record video start numbers during the ICC World T20, as the world’s leading cricket website broadcast digital on-demand highlights of the tournament, which concluded with England’s dramatic loss to the West Indies on April 3rd.
Globally, via all devices and platforms, the 2016 tournament was the most trafficked non-ICC Cricket World Cup event in ESPNcricinfo site history, recording an average of 4.1 million daily unique visitors, a 10 per cent increase compared to the 2014 edition of the tournament. The site also logged 1.4 billion minutes and 197.6 million visits, up 11 and 30 per cent respectively.
The most dynamic growth in audience and engagement for ESPNcricinfo came from video with a recorded 17 million video starts, more than triple the 2014 tournament (up 225 per cent). Average daily video starts on the web (mobile and copmuters) more than doubled from two years ago (up 165 per cent).
In the UK, ESPNcricinfo recorded nine of its Top 10 ‘Best Ever’ days in terms of video starts contributing to a 902 per cent increase compared to the 2014 edition of the tournament.
The World T20 was the first major International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament since ESPN signed a four-year agreement with the ICC in February to broadcast digital on-demand highlights of all ICC events in the UK.
Three quarters of overall ESPN UK website video starts during the tournament were T20 related, with almost half of all video starts the live ‘In Play clips’. In addition, nine out of the Top 10 most viewed Live ‘In Play clips’ occurred during matches involving host nation India, who were knocked out in the semi-finals by the West Indies.
Video viewing grew substantially across all major cricket markets, with the US, India, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Canada all increasing by triple-digit per centages.
On smartphones globally, ESPNcricinfo apps also showed healthy increases, up 41 per cent in average daily unique visitors, 63 per cent in total minutes and 70 per cent in total visits. App audiences among cricket fans in the UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka and the UAE more than doubled compared to the 2014 tournament.