471 million viewing hours for tournament is 156% increase on last edition

England women's cricket

The 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup drew a record 471 million viewing hours, a 156% increase on the 2024 edition.

The cricket tournament took place across England last summer, and saw Australia defeat England in the final. However, it was India and Pakistan’s group-stage encounter in Birmingham that became the most-watched ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match in history with more than 77 million viewing hours globally. 

Three other matches from the tournament also surpassed the previous benchmark: Australia vs. India (54 million viewing hours), South Africa vs. India (51 million) and Bangladesh vs. India (42 million).

Within the UK, Sky Sports also saw success with 18.2 million total viewing hours and an average audience of 381,000 for England matches - a 69 percent increase on the previous tournament in Bangladesh. The Final between England and Australia recorded a peak audience of 678,000.

ICC chairman Jay Shah said: “The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has made a powerful statement about the future of the women’s game. This tournament delivered record crowds, viewership, reach and engagement, and demonstrated what is possible when women’s cricket is given the platform, investment and belief it deserves.

“I am immensely proud of the players, whose performances inspired fans around the world, as well as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), our members, broadcasters, commercial partners, ICC staff and all the volunteers who played such crucial roles in delivering an event of this scale and quality. As a result of everyone’s hard work, this tournament’s legacy is assured and it will be remembered not only for its records, but for its impact on and off the pitch.

“This is not the end point of our ambition; it is the platform for what comes next. The ICC will continue to invest in women’s cricket, expand opportunity, strengthen pathways and take the game to more fans, more communities and more markets around the world. The success of this tournament gives us even greater confidence in the future we are building.”

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta added: “Our ambition for each ICC event, particularly women’s events, is to raise the bar for our sport; to elevate the stage for the world’s best players, reach new fans the world over, drive deep multi-modal engagement and amplify the purpose and belonging that the game delivers. The scale of the response, as highlighted in this report, shows how that ambition translated into reality.

“Nearly 250,000 in-stadia attendees, almost 500 million total global viewing hours and more than four billion digital video views are powerful measures of the global attention the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 commanded, but the story - and this event’s real-world impact - extends well beyond any single metric, transcending socio-cultural and economic boundaries.

“We deliberately widened access to the event across platforms, cultures, languages, interest segments and markets, combining world-class broadcast coverage with free streaming, digital-first distribution, creator-led storytelling, pop culture plug-ins and new ways for fans to interact with the game. ICC events must continue to serve as platforms that deepen and widen fandom, elevate our athletes and create cultural, commercial and social impact around the game.”