IPL 2020 Sets New Record! BCCI Secretary Jay Shah Says 20 Crore People Watched IPL 13 Opener

IPL 2020 Records: BCCI Secretary Jay Shah says IPL 13 opener between CSK and MI was watched by 20 crore people, which is highest-ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country.

Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Photo Courtesy: @JayShah / Twitter)

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday quoted a study that showed tournament opener of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) played between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) was watched by 20 crore people. Shah took to social media to quote a Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) survey and claim that MI vs CSK match on September 19 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi was the highest-ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country. "Opening match of #Dream11IPL sets a new record! As per BARC, an unprecedented 20 crore people tuned in to watch the match. Highest ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country- no league has ever opened as big as this," said the BCCI Secretary in a tweet while tagging BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Uday Shankar - President of The Walt Disney Company, APAC, and Chairman of Star and Disney India - and Disney+Hotstar.

Opening match of #Dream11IPL sets a new record!

As per BARC, an unprecedented 20crore people tuned in to watch the match. Highest ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country- no league has ever opened as big as this. @IPL @SGanguly99 @UShanx @DisneyPlusHS — Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 22, 2020

Thank you, India 🇮🇳 and 🌏🌎🌏. It's been a dream start to #Dream11IPL. We've recorded highest ever TV & DIGITAL viewership in IPL history 200 million viewership - #MIvCSK@ChennaiIPL @DelhiCapitals @lionsdenkxip @KKRiders @mipaltan @rajasthanroyals @RCBTweets @SunRisers

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 22, 2020

The IPL 2020 was initially postponed by the BCCI due to ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, but after ICC postponed the T20 World Cup set to take place in Australia in October, BCCI got the Sep-Nov window to conduct IPL behind closed doors inside bio-secure bubble  in the United Arab Emirates. IPL 2020 final will take place on November 10, the venue of which is yet to be announced by the IPL Governing Council.