According to TAM data sourced from Star Sports, Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell test match was the highest rated test match on television in India in the past 8 years. The match enjoyed an average viewership of 1.74 million (cable and satellite markets including males 15 years and above from SEC AB and C) across Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2 and Star Sports HD1 (English feed) and Star Sports 3 which showcased the match in Hindi. The broadcaster also revealed that Star Sports network channels together had the maximum channel share across all genres during 6 playing days of the test series.
The series was also streamed live on www.starsports.com which attracted 3.5 million unique visitors during the 2 matches of the India West Indies test series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India title sponsorship rights for the series also lay with Star Sports.
Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sports Business, Star India, said, “We are delighted with the ratings. Our strategic investment in the Hindi language feed over the past year or so is now paying us huge dividends. We will continue in our endeavor to promote sports culture in the country.”
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Star Sports mounted the India West Indies test series in a way that has never been seen before in the country. The sports broadcaster launched a 360 degree initiative involving special programming, innovative production, disruptive marketing to add buzz around Tendulkar's farewell series. It launched the ‘Cheer for Sachin’ campaign featuring stars from Bollywood, cricket and television invoking Sahin’s fans to cheer ‘Sachin Sachin’. Even on ground, the broadcaster initiated multitude of activities to make the test series memorable for fans who flocked to watch the maestro in action in his farewell series. Star India CEO Uday Shankar presented Sachin Tendulkar with the first STAR Sports ‘Believe’ Trophy during the post presentation ceremony in Mumbai.
Starsports.com has specially launched a Sachin Memory Project which has received rave reviews with many regarding it as the best salutation to the little master. Sachin Memory Project is a unique timeline that captures Sachin’s 24 years with videos and stories. The project very aptly elucidates how Sachin has evolved over years and how the world has changed around him.