Record high 60 million viewers for Women's World Cup

The Women's World Cup has achieved record viewing figures with 60 million fans having already tuned in to watch the first 13 one-day matches, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Thursday.

This is the first women's tournament where the prize money is more than the previous men's ODI World Cup, boasting an overall purse of USD 13.88 million (11.9 million euros).

The 13th edition of the women's showpiece 50-over tournament, which started last month in India and Sri Lanka, has eight teams competing for the title to be awarded after the final on 2 November.

"According to data released jointly by ICC and JioHotstar, the first 13 matches of the tournament have already reached over 60 million viewers, a five-fold increase over the 2022 edition," the ICC said.

A key clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on October 5 in Colombo became the most-watched women's international match ever with 28.4 million viewers, the ICC said.

Defending champions Australia are eyeing a record eighth Women's World Cup and hosts India are in hunt for their maiden title.

Pakistan are playing all their matches in Colombo as part of a compromise deal that allows both India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments.