On the chart, viewership records for both the editions of The Hundred 2024 men’s and women’s show a steep decline compared to those for the 2023 version. As there was a 28 per cent reduction in Sky Sports television audience figures of the men’s edition so women’s edition witnessed an even bigger fall of 41 per cent.
Males’ version reading dropped by 25% as per BBC but stayed stable for the female counterparts over the same period. Moreover, peak numbers during both finals’ and the years following it went down as well. The expectations after three years of using the hundred-ball format were exactly the opposite.
In addition to that report published by The Telegraph, some insiders suggest that the 2024 Paris Olympics which were held parallel to The Hundred tournament are responsible for decreased ratings among viewers. Others believe that this competition is stagnating in its initial years and would greatly benefit from seed funding from possible investors.
Aside from the other issues that cropped up, Uganda and Bolts women’s basketball teams have made some big apologies after several hours of avenging their previous loss during the 3rd edition of the Women’s Africa Cup Qualifiers group A tournament. This was also witnessed when they faced their opponents though it was difficult for them not to lose any point considering what had happened in all these years.
The decline in The Hundred’s viewership might or might not affect the investment plans
The sharp decline in figures could make The Hundred look bad when it was supposed to charm the stakeholders. Nevertheless, that dramatic decline in numbers may just represent a mere hiccup. There is still an interest among investors regarding acquisitions since they want to penetrate the market.
Sources suggest that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is fielding 200 expressions of interest from people who want a piece of the tournament.
If speculations are true, Mumbai Indians (MI) have shown interest in the London Spirit team as part of their plans for global growth. The MI group already owns foreign franchises within the SA20, ILT20, and MLC leagues.
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