International and mobile users have surprising impact online.
ORLANDO, FL, August 01, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Amidst the hype surrounding the first fully digital Olympics this past weekend, millions of viewers around the world tuned in to watch the Games live on their computers and mobile devices. According to reports by SYNC, NBC alone dealt out over 24.2 million TV Everywhere streams in the first two days of coverage, a 181% increase over Beijing's opening weekend. In the UK, BBC's blog reported a combined 16 million global browsers on Saturday and Sunday along with 1.15 million downloads of their app.
As the online guide to Olympics streaming coverage for over 150 countries, FreeCast has a front row seat to international viewer behavioral patterns, including interactions with network providers and search statistics related to country-specific events. Viewership opinions vary, including differing sentiments derived from demographic and geographical circumstances.
FreeCast statistics point out that big networks like NBC and BBC have had great success attracting online viewers with up to 3500 hours of live streaming Olympic coverage including multi-camera streams for each of the 302 events - as opposed to previous Olympics where most broadcasts were tape-delayed for television. Another key to these network's success is the availability of streams via tablets and mobile devices, as a majority of live events occur during the average work day.
However, FreeCast's support department reports that while a large percentage of Americans without cable or satellite TV - including terrestrial television (antenna) users and cord cutters - could not get access to the coverage without authentication. Additionally, many of those with cable and satellite subscriptions were unable to watch simply because they didn't understand how to obtain authentication through their providers. The most common request was for a paid access option, which is unavailable.
Beyond the United States, numerous international countries accounted for 62% of FreeCast's visitor traffic during this period, with Australia, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, UK, Germany, Japan, France, Hong Kong and the Netherlands rounding out the top ten. FreeCast further reports that 11% of total viewers connected with mobile devices.
