Restricted view is still an issue in virtual stadiums
A metaverse experience is the real goal for football fans planning to watch the World Cup, according to research commissioned by telecoms software vendor Amdocs. Many die-hard football fans might disagree with this conclusion but they may agree with Amdocs’ claim that modern football fans are willing to pay more for a World Cup-specific, 5G mobile data package – as long as they can get a decent connection.
Raman Abrol, Amdocs General Manager said ‘consumers’ (football fans) want services powered by a diverse ecosystem of partners that delivers best-in-class offerings like 360 video, real-time insights and metaverse experiences. The World Cup 2022 Viewing Report, conducted by Dynata and commissioned by Amdocs, surveyed UK viewers who plan to watch this year’s World Cup. It concluded that the British public is ‘largely ready’ for a new era of ‘amazing interactive entertainment offerings’ and the only thing keeping them out of the metaverse is a lack of network reliability.
The research findings, below, indicate that football fans have increasing expectations around the metaverse, entertainment and connectivity that drive a desire for new experiences. Their reasoning is that 48% of the sample would be interested in an unlimited World Cup-specific mobile data package to stream matches at 5G speeds if it meant there were no delays or loss of connectivity. On the other hand, most fans would agree to anything, if it meant there were no spikes in coverage or frozen screens.
While 73% plan to watch the World Cup on live public TV, 44% of millennials and 38% of Gen-Z plan to stream games. Viewers under 40 plan to watch the games on social media channels, with millennials leading this trend (28%) followed by Gen-Z (27%). Only 78% of fans said they are confident in their home connectivity to support their World Cup viewing. That confidence drops to 57% when it comes to their mobile network, said Amdocs. Some 18% of fans questioned don’t have access to all games from their TV provider.
Two-thirds (62%) 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, Amdocs has claimed. Gen-Z (42%) and millennials (39%) are the most interested, while a quarter (25%) of Gen-X respondents were. Other viewers want 360-degree live video of the game (30%), interactive in-game challenges (25%) and AR/VR experiences (24%), said Amdocs.
“As 5G availability expands, we expect to see more service providers creating unique experience packages beyond generic 5G speed across all offerings,” said Anthony Goonetilleke, Group President of Technology and Head of Strategy at Amdocs.