85% of consumers will follow the World Cup online – but only 38% plan to use TV for score updates
Over half of the population (53 per cent) will use their smartphones to stay up to date with football news during the World Cup, research by work.shop.play., the online urban community, has discovered.
The research of 1,878 people discovered that 85 per cent of consumers will be following the tournament online in some form with 41 per cent specifically using social media sites.
Almost a quarter (24 per cent) said that they would be using the likes of Facebook and Twitter to get their score updates, while 38 per cent said that they would keep track of score updates on the television.
Simon Harrington, marketing director at Exterion Media, which owns work.shop.play., commented: “All eyes will be on Brazil this summer, but it’s interesting to see how different our approach will be to following the games compared to 2010. For the first time, internet and mobile are going to play key roles in how we digest news and follow coverage of the games. Crucially, for the out of home sector, consumers will be looking to follow the news while on the move.”
The research found that 22 per cent of 16-34 year olds will watch full games on their iPad, while 47 per cent plan to go online to view match highlights.
“Almost a quarter (25 per cent) say that they plan to follow the competition while on public transport, a statistic which increases to 38 per cent in the 16-34 age group. We expect consumers, and Londoners especially, to make the most of free Wi-Fi on the London Underground to stay connected and share in the excitement the World Cup brings,” Harrington added.
Almost one in five (18 per cent) will watch the full games online.