A total of 18.8 million viewers watched on ESPN Star Sports channels, with a further 20 million tuning in to coverage on public-service broadcaster Doordarshan. ESS recorded a TVR of 2.12 in cable and satellite homes, which compares with the 3.8 rating drawn by the opening match of the Indian Premier League last year. The IPL, however, is shown exclusively by cable and satellite channel Set Max, whereas listed-events legislation requires all of India’s matches to be shared on free-to-air television.
The World Cup audience is, not surprisingly, considerably greater than that for last year’s Commonwealth Games, which after the first three days of competition had drawn a cumulative audience of 33 million.