Football fans watch the World Cup match between England and Belgium in a bar on June 28, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
The downside to watching sports in communal settings at bars and restaurants is that often you can’t hear the broadcast analysts amidst the cheers and jubilation. Tunity has a solution for you: the free app allows users watching games at loud bars to sync live audio with their smartphones.
And data from Tunity and from others such as industry giants Facebook and Twitter, shows just how communal the shared World Cup experience is for global soccer fans.
Tunity
(Courtesy of Tunity)
The app supports more than 100 channels in the U.S., including World Cup broadcast partners Fox, FS1, and Telemundo. Tunity’s analytics solution reported that the tournament’s average minute audience (AMA) for out-of-home (OOH) viewers in the U.S. was about 1.81 million over the first five days of play. That’s similar to the audience for the NBA conference semifinals.
Spain-Portugal’s group match drew the largest estimated audience of 5.34 million, according to Tunity. Rounding out the top five (data through July 1) are Agentina-Croatia (4.12 million), Uruguay-Portugal (3.73 million), Nigeria-Agentina (3.73 million), and Germany-Mexico (3.65 million).
Those numbers would seem to be a good draw given the U.S. national team was not participating. They pale, however, compared to figures coming out of Iceland, where 99.6 percent of all television viewers in that country watched its first World Cup match.
Worldpay
In England, data reported by payment processing company Worldpay indicated an 80 percent increase in pub transactions in the hour leading up to each of England’s group matches compared to the same time on a usual day. Worldpay also found a 50 percent increase in online betting prior to England’s first match, although the average spend-per-deposit figure was 7 percent lower, owing to more casual bettors participating.
“The World Cup will be a welcome windfall for certain sectors, with bars, pubs and bookmakers in particular set for one of the busiest months of the year,” Steve Newton, Worldpay’s EVP for UK and Europe, said in a press release. “Pub and gambling operators looking to cash in on the football frenzy will be hoping England avoid an early exit, with every 90-minutes of play boosting business by as much as 50%.”
Facebook
Facebook shared that Argentina superstar Lionel Messi was the most discussed player on its platform both in the U.S. and globally. Brazil was the most discussed team globally, but Mexico topped that list domestically. Facebook also added a newsfeed snooze button that will help fans avoid score updates before they are ready to watch.
(Courtesy of Facebook)
Twitter
Twitter, meanwhile, reported that Brazil swept its group stage rankings for top match (Brazil’s 1-0 win over Costa Rica), top moment (Philippe Coutinho’s goal in Brazil-Costa Rica), and most top player (Neymar Jr.).
(Courtesy of Twitter)
SportTechie Takeaway
Over-the-top streaming isn’t the only technology enabling World Cup fans to enjoy matches away from home, as audio-syncing Tunity, online betting apps, and social media networks are also enhancing the experience. And, of course, all these platforms are accruing massive amounts of user data to inform their programming and target their advertising.
