Star Sports and cricket dominated Week 5 (January 26-February 1) in the Broadcast Audience Research Council sports genre television viewership ratings as the Virat Kohli-led Indians reigned supreme in the One Day International series in New Zealand.
The week also had the Pro Kabaddi League final on January 1, but the live broadcast of the ODIs in New Zealand grabbed all the top five sports for the most-watched sports genre shows. There has been a significant rise in the impressions for the No. 1 sports show in comparison to the previous week. The high-scoring second ODI grabbed three of the five spots with live feed on Star Sports 1 Hindi, DD Sports (Hindi simulcast) and Star Sports 1 (English live feed).
| BARC RATINGS: STAR SPORTS CONSOLIDATES LEAD | |||
| WEEK 5 – Most watched sports shows | |||
| Rank | Show | Channel | Impressions |
| 1 | N.Z.-India 2nd ODI Live | Star Sports 1 Hindi | 6,159,000 |
| 2 | N.Z.-India 3rd ODI Live | Star Sports 1 Hindi | 4,667,000 |
| 3 | N.Z.-India 4th ODI Live | Star Sports 1 Hindi | 3,724,000 |
| 4 | N.Z.-India 2nd ODI Live | DD Sports | 3,608,000 |
| 5 | N.Z.-India 2nd ODI Live | Star Sports 1 | 3,158,000 |
| *All India (U+R): NCCS All : 2+ individuals/ratings period : Jan 26 to Feb 1 | |||
Cricket also helped Star Sports 1 consolidate its position as the No. 1 sports genre channel for the second consecutive week. However, cricket also caused the Star Sports network a minor setback as free to air platform Star Sports First missed out on its regular top-5 position. DD Sports, benefiting from Star India’s shared feed for live cricket, sneaked in at No. 4.
Even as cricket was the driving factor, Sony Sports cluster benefited from the bouquet of its rich international content and the Pro Kabaddi League final to hold on to two top-5 positions.
Also Read: BARC Ratings: A week of absolute cricket and Sony Sports domination
| BARC RATINGS: STAR SPORTS CONSOLIDATES LEAD | ||
| Week 5: Most Watched Sports Channels | ||
| Rank | Channel | Impressions |
| 1. | Star Sports 1 Hindi | 222,777,000 |
| 2. | Star Sports 1 | 117,445,000 |
| 3. | Sony Ten 1 | 114,468,000 |
| 4. | DD Sports | 112,232,000 |
| 5. | Sony Ten 3 | 69,269,000 |
| *All India (U+R): NCCS All : 2+ individuals/ratings period : Jan 26- Feb 1 | ||
Star Sports will yet again have the edge as the coming week will feature data for the fifth and final ODI and first two of the three T20 Internationals in New Zealand.
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