TV to be the big World Cup winner

Almost 6 million British adults intend to watch more World Cup TV coverage this time around than they did during the 2006 tournament, according to new research.

Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG) also revealed that 5 million more adults intend to watch World Cup games through the internet at home.

It said that 2.6 million adults intend to watch more coverage over the internet at work compared with four years ago, while many people will turn to their phones. Delving deeper, more than 1 million 16-34 year old men intend to watch more coverage on their mobile phones.

Richard Hartell, chief strategy officer at SMG: “There are huge opportunities to capitalise on 3 screen multitasking. Brands that can connect experiences across TV, laptop and mobile offering people a richer experience with the games will win.”

While 74% of men are expected to watch the World Cup, 44% of women told SMG they are also planning to watch the action, 20% of whom anticipate they will watch more coverage than they did in 2006.

The research is taken from the TNS Omnibus survey, with a sample of 1000 GB adults aged 16-64 providing a look at consumer media behaviour around the World Cup.