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Tag: world cup

  • Why the 2018 World Cup will be the most digitally focused tournament

    Why the 2018 World Cup will be the most digitally focused tournament

    Since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, sports content creation, digital fan engagement and the world of sports has taken a large step in terms of the way broadcasters can disseminate their coverage. The age of simply watching a football match, or any sport for that matter, on the television is a thing of the past. Fans can watch their countries compete in the tournament through their television provider’s streaming website, social media, Youtube, Hulu, or even in some cases virtual reality.

    With a range of selections available for fans to experience the 2018 World Cup, there is no denying that this year’s tournament will be very heavily focused on the digital aspect. Most fans of the sport have already become accustomed to having their favourite sporting events have a digital factor. However, this should generally be the first experience for fans of the World Cup because of it only occurs every four years.

    According to FIFA.com, the 2014 World Cup had more than one billion people tune in for the final between Argentina and Germany. Over the course of the tournament, it was estimated that 280 million people watched matches on their mobile device or online. We can expect this figure to only increase for the 2018 World Cup with so many options available for fans.

    Of course, this increase in viewership options allows sponsors and sports digital publishers to intervene across all platforms. In the United States, the main broadcaster for the 2018 World Cup is Fox Sports. The company has partnered with Twitter and Snap to stream live coverage of stories and match-day highlights. A partnership like this only adds to potential revenue for Fox as they broadcast the tournament. Of course, they will receive plenty of revenue via their normal broadcasts on the television.

    As the tournament draws nearer, we should expect to see more deals like this for various broadcasters across the world. The focus on digital broadcasting will be one of the more intriguing “behind the scenes” stories of the 2018 World Cup because it could serve as a massive step into the future of sports broadcasting and can have a huge effect on sports digital media. The average sports fan has moved past the idea that they have to watch their favourite team or sport on a television at their house with advertisements shown only at halftime. They care more about simply being able to watch it, regardless of their location. This group of people is OK with paying for streaming services with short advertisements during the actual program.

  • Snack Media reveals World Cup Russia 2018 fan insights

    Snack Media reveals World Cup Russia 2018 fan insights

    Snack Media & Snack Gaming today released the results of a survey of 1,800 football fans from their 25m+ strong network of fans to find out how supporters will consume the FIFA World Cup 2018, revealing that fan habits are shifting ahead of the tournament this summer.

    With questions covering everything from viewing preferences and betting insight to sponsor recall, the results of the survey highlighted that both media consumption and attitude towards the England team are changing.

    Niall Coen, Snack-Media CEO and Co -Founder: “Brands want to connect with sports fans around tent pole events such as the World Cup, we at Snack Media wanted to ensure that our World Cup coverage across our 26 million addressable audience network is relevant, meaningful and entertaining for fans and brands alike.” Coen commented “It is so important that brands use these opportunities to engage in conversation with authenticity by creating relevant experiences for followers. Using our network to collect the opinions of these supporters ahead of big tournaments gives us great insight into the mind of the modern football fan. We are excited to release the findings from our research and I’m sure they will be of interest to both official rights holders and those looking to activate with more guerilla-style campaigns.”

    The research revealed unsurprisingly that live TV will still be the main viewing destination, with 85% planning to watch the action on TV. However, pubs will need to make a big marketing push to get people off their sofas as only 16% intend to leave home for the local, and digital channels will be the main media platform for consumption – just 8% of those surveyed will go to a national newspaper for news and insight compared to 45% who said Sky Sports and 25% who will use various official and unofficial digital channels.

    Snack-Gaming.com Co-Founder Rupert Pratt commented, “The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has the potential to be a landmark event for the sports marketing and digital industry. Never before has digital consumption been so high or so well understood. The research demonstrates the level of personalisation fans want. Sponsors and advertisers will need to deliver a broad range content and digital engagement tools across multiple channels. This combination of peak time live TV destination viewing and digital consumption creates significant opportunities for official sponsors but potentially more so unofficial sponsors.”

    England fans seem more pessimistic than ever about the team’s chances in the tournament – an overwhelming 91% priced Southgate’s men as outsiders – and just 3% will be making the trip to Russia. In fact, four times more people would like to win tickets to watch their favourite club in action than watch England’s group games in Russia, and just over three times more would rather win a home entertainment system than watch the Three Lions at the Greatest Show on Earth. Germany emerged as favourites among punters, 40% of whom would stake £100 on them to lift the title.

    10 Quick Insights

    • Official sponsor Adidas face an uphill struggle for a greater share of mind than unofficial sponsor Nike (When faced with a selection of brands, 54% incorrectly believed Nike are a sponsor, while only 57% know that Adidas are a sponsor). 15% incorrectly believed Volkswagen is a sponsor, while 27% know that Hyundai Kia is a sponsor.
    • The main companion for TV viewers during matches will be social media on their phones, not their mates (66% will be watching at home vs. 5% round their mates’)
    • Pubs will need to make a big marketing push to get people off their sofas and into the local (just 16% intend to watch at the pub)
    • Live TV is still the main viewing destination (85% will be watching on TV)
    • Live action is the biggest marketing opportunity: nobody will be watching the highlights on delay (just 0.28%)
    • 44% will be making a bet
    • Germany are the favourites to win (backed by 40%)
    • England fans are pessimistic about the team’s chances (priced as outsiders by 91%)
    • 50% of fans are keen to watch games in a fan park
    • Social media has overtaken newspapers as a preferred source of World Cup news (just 8% will consult newspapers vs. 25% who will consult digital channels)

    For more details and a full report of the research please contact Snack Media on rupert@snack-media.com