FIFA World Cup 2014: Digitally Dominant

Indian audiences preferred the mobile phone as the second primary device to follow FIFA 2014.

Keeping in mind the fervour and excitement surrounding one of 2014's largest sporting events - the FIFA World Cup - Vdopia, the online and mobile video advertising firm examined the impact of online and mobile devices on fan interaction with the World Cup.

Vdopia found that fans across APAC and India followed the World Cup on multiple screens - TV, mobile and laptops. According to Vdopia, the mobile phone has become the second most preferred medium in APAC after TV with 80 per cent of respondents looking at television and smartphones.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup has been regarded as the 'most social event ever - 250,000 Indian viewers (unique visits) visited football sites everyday via mobile phones. The Social Buzz volumes remained highest between 8:00pm-4am (India). India also saw one of the highest-ever (6.5 million) online sport audiences in May.

Another significant trend witnessed is a paradigm shift in the consumer's video consumption behaviour termed as "Multi-screen intake" or "platform agnostic" intake. For example, a typical consumer is watching the match, checking FIFA updates and sharing highlights of his favourite match on his mobile, updating them on Facebook, looking up for some information on his tablet or just sending an email - all at the same time.

Sharing his thoughts, Preetesh Chouhan, VP-APAC, Vdopia, says, "'My time', 'my content' and 'my device' is where today's consumer is moving to. TV no longer gets undivided attention as consumers are increasingly consuming content on their smart phones and tablets. Multi-screening is here to stay.

Meanwhile, LIVSports.in, the official mobile and internet broadcaster of the 2014 Cup, claims to have registered a record number of downloads and LIVE match views between 13 June and 13 July 2014. The site attracted over 20 million page views in the last month. Viewers spent on an average of 28 minutes watching the LIVE streaming of the matches across online, mobile and the tablet LIV Sports application.

Of the total traction observed on LIV Sports, the maximum percentage of unique views came from the six metros (53 per cent) with Mumbai and Delhi in the lead (13 per cent each), followed by Bengaluru (10 per cent). Eighty three per cent of the viewers in the country were in the age bracket of 18-34. The 2014 FIFA World Cup on LIV Sports also attracted 25 per cent female viewership. Engagements like the Predictor, "Mohit Bana Messi - Jerseyfy Me" and "Pehchaan Kaun" helped achieve this.