ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Sets Viewership Record at 471M Hours

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Thursday, 5 November 2026

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 has achieved remarkable milestones in terms of global viewership, attendance and economic impact, making an impactful statement for women's cricket and the burgeoning popularity of women's sport globally. The tournament was the most-watched in the tournament's history, with 471 million viewing hours globally in the 33 matches. This is a 156% rise from the 184 million hours of viewing at the 2024 edition.

In Women's T20 World Cup history, the India-Pakistan match in the group stage in Birmingham was the most viewed match with over 77 million viewing hours worldwide. Three other games also broke previous viewing time records – Australia v India (54 million hours), South Africa v India (51 million hours) and Bangladesh v India (42 million hours).

Key Highlights:

• Tournament records 471 million viewing hours across 33 matches
• India-Pakistan fixture becomes the most-watched Women’s T20 World Cup match
• Nielsen estimates $93.8 million economic impact across the United Kingdom

The tournament also had a significant economic and social impact in the host country. A study by independent agency Nielsen estimated the event produced $93.8 million in total economic impact for the United Kingdom, which included direct economic impact as well as secondary economic impact and media value to host cities. The tournament also created and supported over 13,000 full and part-time jobs.

The separate Nielsen research revealed that 81% of all parents questioned indicated the tournament had helped to challenge the notion that cricket is a boys-only game. In the same way, 73% of women aged 16 – 30 said that the event helped to change this perception. Also, 81% of parents said that their daughters' interest in joining a club or academy had increased and 80% said it would have a positive impact on women's sport in England.

ICC Chairman Jay Shah emphasised the importance of the tournament for the future of women's cricket, thanking the players, organisers, broadcasters and volunteers for their efforts. He added, “This tournament was the first time in the history of the sport to record such numbers in terms of crowd, viewership, reach and engagement, and showed us what can be achieved when women's cricket gets the platform, investment and the belief it deserves.”

He also highlighted the fact that the tournament success would provide a stepping stone to furthering opportunities, building development pathway and bring women's cricket to more communities and international markets.

ICC head Sanjog Gupta also spoke of the need to make the tournament available in various platforms, culture and markets. He said that almost 250,000 fans were packed into the stadiums and digital video views surpassed four billion, with global viewing hours nearing 500 million. The event was not only empowering, but also had a broader cultural, commercial and social reach, according to Gupta.

The tournament's success was also highlighted by the level of attendance and digital interaction. In total, 245,815 people watched for the full 25 match days, which is over 100,000 more than the previous record set at the women's T20 World Cup. The end-of-course at Lord's drew in 28,887 supporters – a new record for a women's game in the UK.

Users on digital platforms viewed a whopping 3.2 billion times of tournament content, up almost 250% from the previous edition. Over 80 creators from nine countries participated in this Creator Club, creating more than 2,000 posts, 1.1 billion views and 50 million engagements.