World Cup boosts social media usage 300%
July 9, 2014
Allot Communications has revealed the results from its analysis of mobile application traffic surrounding the 2014 World Cup.
Real-time data showed that usage of mobile sports apps such as ESPN, BBC sports and Eurosport was up 300 per cent above average levels during game times. Allot’s granular analytics also showed that Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Skype Chat and Viber were up 200 per cent over the average use during game time. A deeper dive into social media apps showed WhatsApp Photo Sharing was up 30 per cent over average at the beginning of the game.
Network traffic peaks shifted from normal hours to game times. As an example, in Latin America afternoon games shifted the traffic peaks from evening hours to those hours. Networks experienced two peaks on days when there were two major games and on days when there were no games traffic patterns shifted back to normal.
“Our analysis of mobile traffic surrounding the World Cup games definitely showed us that it’s all about the online experience,” said Yaniv Sulkes, AVP marketing at Allot Communications. “For example, during the Italy versus Uruguay game, YouTube traffic skyrocketed by more than 40 per cent immediately following the infamous Suarez bite incident. This clearly demonstrates the widespread digital lifestyle where app adoption is strong and is particularly engaging around major events like the world cup – a fact operators should note and leverage.”