INDIAAA WON THE WC 2011!!!! - Page 7

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Team India's victory at Wankhede will not only go down in history as one of the greatest cricketing victories for the country, but also as one of the most viewed sporting events on television ever.

An unprecedented 67.6 million people watched the gripping final that had most Indians at the edge of their seats. The number of viewers on Saturday'according to the data collated by audience measurement agency aMap'has surpassed the Indo-Pak semi-final that was perhaps the most anticipated match of the tournament for the subcontinent audience. The number of viewers for the semi-final was 67.3 million. The other semifinal'Sri Lanka vs New Zealand'paled in comparison with only 32 million viewers.

Incidentally, TRP viewership for India matches leaped from 3.7 before the quarterfinals to 6.4. About 53 million watched the India vs Australia clash in the quarter-finals. aMap vice-president Jinita Shah said, "Yesterday's viewership broke all records. Every Indian was glued on to TV to see the big win. Viewership increased almost four times on Saturday.'' According to aMap, 64% of cable and satellite homes watched the Men in Blue clinch the World Cup. The average viewership rating for the final was 13.6, which peaked at 21.4 during the end of the match'higher than the high-voltage Indo-Pak encounter at Mohali. However, most industry watchers will wait for the TAM ratings that most media agencies subscribe to for a full analysis.

The aMap data, though, is an indication of the unprecedented viewership that the final clocked. The average time spent recorded on the match was an impressive 187 minutes.

"The World Cup finals will break all records possible as far as cricket viewership or any other programme in recent times is concerned. Peaks could touch ratings of 40 and average would be higher than 30. Considering India won and it happened in India while the contests were well fought, this World Cup has given the sponsors the biggest returns compared to other years," said Ajit Varghese, MD of Maxus, which bought media for brands like Vodafone, Fiat, Nokia and Hero Honda among others.