Research: UK viewers seek enhanced World Cup experience
October 4, 2022
Findings from The World Cup 2022 Viewing Report, conducted by Dynata and commissioned by communications and media software and services provider Amdocs, suggest that viewers are largely ready for a new era of interactive entertainment offerings and are willing to pay for digital products and services that make their experience more enjoyable.
However, not having access to viewing the World Cup, coupled with questions around network reliability, could hinder this evolution.
Findings include:
- When asked if they would be willing to pay extra for an unlimited World Cup-specific mobile data package to stream matches at 5G speeds with no delays or loss of connectivity, 48 per cent were interested.
- While most (73 per cent) viewers plan to watch the World Cup on live public TV, 44 per cent of millennials and 38 per cent of Gen-Z plan to stream games. Notably, viewers under 40 plan to watch the games on social media channels, with millennials leading this trend (28 per cent) followed by Gen-Z (27 per cent).
- While 78 per cent of fans are confident in their home connectivity to support their World Cup viewing, confidence drops to 57 per cent when it comes to their mobile network. Accessibility is also a concern, with 18 per cent of total respondents stating they don’t have access to all games from their TV provider.
- Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of viewers expressed interest in using the metaverse to be part of a virtual stadium where they could watch sporting events with other fans as if they were there. Gen-Z (42 per cent) and millennials (39 per cent) are the most interested, while a quarter (25 per cent) of Gen-X respondents were.
- Beyond the metaverse, viewers have a growing desire for more interactive experiences such as 360-degree live video of the game (30 per cent), interactive in-game challenges (25 per cent) and AR/VR experiences (24 per cent).
“As 5G availability expands, we expect to see more service providers creating unique ‘experience packages’ beyond generic 5G speed across all offerings—for instance, a connection specifically for the metaverse or augmented reality sports, and more – even packaged with hardware or other physical goods that enable or complement the experience,” advises Anthony Goonetilleke, Group President of Technology and Head of Strategy at Amdocs. “As experiences become more a la carte, there is a need for a new kind of approach that can be fine-tuned and uniquely tailored to end-users. This flexibility will be essential for players in an increasingly digital world, including next-generation entertainment experiences made possible by a reliable network.”
“These findings show that consumers now have new, specific criteria that determine value from their service and content providers, and they want new ways to engage,” adds Raman Abrol, General Manager at Amdocs and CEO of Vubiquity. “It also opens opportunities to rethink how services can be bundled; they can be powered by a diverse ecosystem of partners that delivers best-in-class offerings like 360 video, real-time insights and metaverse experiences. This approach is essential to get right because opportunities to personalise the viewing experience will continue to grow, creating more options, and potential complications, as consumers try to manage their offerings.”