Pink-ball Test at Eden Gardens viewed by 43 million people, reveals BARC
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BARC has revealed the first-ever pink ball Test in the country between India and Bangladesh, which took place last year in November, was viewed by 43 million people and clocked 2 billion viewing minutes. It also recorded the highest viewership for the first day of any Test match played in 2018-19.
After Sourav Ganguly became the BCCI President, the former Indian skipper ensured India took up the pink ball challenge after initial resistance, when the team and the board were not so content in participating in Day/Night Test matches. The second Test between the Virat Kohli-led India and Mominul Haque-led Bangladesh was played under lights at Eden Gardens, amid a lot of hype and a jam-packed stadium.
The match, part of the ICC World Test Championship, got over early on Day 3 with the hosts winning by an innings and 46 runs to wrap the series 2-0. The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has confirmed that the historic Day/Night encounter was witnessed on television by a staggering 43 million people, also clocking 2 billion viewing minutes, the highest for any Test played between the 2018-19 period.
The BARC also revealed that Wrestling, Kabbadi and Football were the most watched sports apart from cricket, constituting for 85% of the total viewing minutes of all non-cricketing events. It also revealed that Sporting channels saw a 17% splurge (in terms of viewing minutes) from the year 2018.
