2025 WTC Final: A look at viewership records the Australia-South Africa clash broke

The recent World Test Championship final between South Africa and Australia at Lord's has produced jaw-dropping viewership numbers across the board for the host broadcaster Star Sports. The encounter, held between June 11-14 saw South Africa register a five-wicket win, thereby breaking their 27-year wait for an ICC trophy. It meant a new winner in each WTC cycle after New Zealand and Australia had won it in previous occasions with India being the runners-up on both occasions.

Kagiso Rabada's nine-wicket match haul and Aiden Markram's second innings century were among the major highlights of the game as South Africa wore the fabled underdog clothing with aplomb to down a confident Australian side at the grandest stage of them all in the longest format.

Apart from being a historic game for South Africa, the marquee clash also set unprecedented viewership numbers for Star Sports. The fixture grabbed 2.94 billion minutes of viewing on television, thereby making it the most viewed non-India Test match on the channel. The summit clash had a gargantuan reach of 47 million.

JioHotstar who streamed the match digitally saw a record viewership of 225 million that was on par with the 2023 WTC final between Australia and India at The Oval. Apart from broadcasting benchmarks, the final at Lord's also had an attendance of close to 110,000 who turned up to show their support for both teams with South Africa getting a greater chunk of it.

ICC Chair Jay Shah lauded the broadcasters for their dedication and opined that these viewership numbers were a testimony to the quality of production and epic nature of the match in general. He had huge words of praise for Star Sports and JioHotstar who helmed the television and digital space respectively for this fixture.

“The remarkable viewership numbers for the ICC World Test Championship Final, across both broadcast and digital platforms, are a powerful testament to the appeal of high-quality Test cricket and the elevated context of the WTC Final,” said Shah.

“This format continues to command a loyal and passionate global following and remains an integral part of our sport’s identity.

“What makes this success even more special is the enthusiasm shown by fans in regions beyond the two competing nations, reaffirming that cricket’s reach is truly international, and that the purest form of the game can thrive beyond national affiliations.”

“A special mention to JioStar, whose innovative and immersive coverage, captured the drama, emotion, and atmosphere of the ‘Ultimate Test’ in a way that deeply resonated with audiences around the world.”

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