Mumbai: Prasar Bharati on Friday said it garnered 6.6 million views and 2.6 lakh hours of watch time and 5.6 million views and 1.4 lakh hours of watch time for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 via its YouTube channels DD National and PB Sports, respectively.

The public service broadcaster brought the games live to the screens of millions of viewers through its broadcasting and digital platforms. It reached households through TV, radio, and smartphones.

The event was broadcast live every day on DD Sports with supporting coverage on the channels DD National, DD News, and DD India. It was also broadcast on All India Radio (AIR) including all AIR capital stations, FM Rainbow, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), and other interested AIR stations. The programming was available on their YouTube channels (DD National and PB Sports), DTH, and NewsOnAir mobile app within the territory of India.  

“The accessible coverage on DD Sports and All India Radio Sports network was hugely popular among Indians across age-groups, gender, class and regions is evident in the multi-million digital viewership clocked together by multiple YouTube channels and NewsOnAir app of Prasar Bharati," said the public broadcaster in a statement.

Prasar Bharati hired 14 sign language artists who presented 240 hours of live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics. For listeners, the broadcaster brought together 16 All India Radio commentators to draw a vivid picture of different Olympic events.

Apart from live Olympic sporting events, its coverage included live broadcast of opening and closing ceremonies, exclusive virtual conclave with top Indian sports personalities, biographies and success stories of members of the Indian Olympic contingent, and celebrations of their victories across the country.