The London 2012 Olympic
Games: media consumption
Research Report
Publishing Date:
18 December 2012
CONTENTS
The London 2012 Games: media consumption
3
1.1.1
Introduction
3
1.1.2
Key points
4
1.1.3
Television audiences during the Games
5
1.1.4
Take-up of communications devices and services
9
1.1.5
The international market during the Games
15
2
The London 2012 Games: media
consumption
1.1.1 Introduction
Between 27July and 9 September 2012, London hosted the Games of the XXX Olympiad
and the XIV Paralympiad.
Prior to the Games, Ofcom undertook consumer research on people’s intentions to follow the
Games; which it published in August of 2012 in the Communications Market Report 2012 1.
Following the Games, Ofcom commissioned new consumer research into UK adults’
consumption of the Games on different media and devices, and their reasons for using
specific devices. This report presents findings from the research, together with analysis of
people’s viewing behaviour, using data from the Broadcast Audience Research Board
(BARB). This report forms a part of the research that is presented in the International
Communications Market Report 2012 2 and the Ofcom and the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games report 3.
The London 2012 Games opened to a UK communications market that had developed
considerably since previous Games in Beijing and Athens. During the 2012 Games
consumers had increased choice in how and when they could follow the Games. There was
greater take-up of smart devices, while social networks, and broadband played larger roles
this time round.
With near universal coverage, UK audiences to the 2012 Olympic Games were higher than
figures recorded for previous Games. The opening and closing ceremonies attracted much
larger audiences in 2012 than for previous Olympic Games, and equally impressive numbers
tuned in to watch the stars of track and field perform. Traditional television broadcasting was
the main means of experiencing the Games, but digital methods were also widely used,
especially by younger consumers. While television was considered a convenient and highquality method, digital devices offered availability at any time of day. Tablet devices were
considered to offer a high-quality viewing experience, making them a mobile supplement to
the main screen. Mobile phones were used to complement and extend viewing.
ICMR research methodology
Ofcom’s International Communications Market Report consumer survey covered the
communications behaviour of internet users in eight markets: the UK, Germany, France,
Italy, Spain, the US, Japan, and Australia. The research looked at the ownership and use of
communications services and devices such as TV, mobile, fixed landline and internet. The
research looked in detail at how consumers used communication devices and services to
follow the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A total of 9,152 interviews with internet users
were completed – with at least 1,000 in each market. Age and gender quotas in each market
were set in line with those employed in earlier waves, to ensure historical consistency.
1
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr12/
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-marketreports/cmr12/international/
3
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/olympics/
2
3
1.1.2 Key points
•
Since the 2004 Olympic Games, take-up of audio-visual digital devices and services
through which the Games could be experienced has grown significantly. Broadband
take-up has grown by 60 percentage points to reach 76% of households in the UK, whereas
39% of UK adults have a smartphone, 10% own a tablet and 50% have a social networking
profile (Ofcom technology tracker, Q1 2012).
•
According to BARB, more than 51 million viewers aged 4+ watched television
coverage of the Olympic Games, and over 31 million watched the Paralympic Games
for 15 minutes or more, making the events the most-watched Games ever on UK television.
The opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympic Games drew the biggest Olympics
audiences ever, peaking at around 27 million viewers each.
•
Over 28.6 million viewers used digital interactive TV channels during the Olympics.
Three of the 27 channels achieved over 10 million viewers, while 26 of the 27 channels
specially designated for Olympics broadcasts had over 1 million viewers.
•
According to Ofcom’s research, television was the most-used medium to follow
Olympics coverage, with 78% of UK adults saying they watched on television.
•
Around half (52%) of UK adults followed coverage online on any device. This rose to
64% among 18-24s and 66% among 25-34s. Forty-five per cent of 18-24 years olds and 48%
of 25-34 year olds used a mobile phone to stay up to date with the Games, compared to the
UK average of 28%.
•
Twenty-three per cent of adults who used tablets to follow the Games cited highquality pictures and the viewing experience as reasons for using this device. ‘Being
available at any time of the day’ (32%) and ‘choice of things to watch’ (21%) were the other
top reasons given for using a tablet.
•
Thirty-five per cent of adults who used a mobile to follow the Games cited availability
at any time of day as a reason for using the device. Twenty-seven per cent cited
convenience as a reason and 17% cited immediacy.
•
According to Topsy, there were more than 150 million tweets about the Olympics
during the Games. Athletes including Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps; performers like the
Spice Girls; the Olympics, London and Rio were some of the most popularly tweeted topics
•
According to Ofcom’s research, the UK and Spain were the highest users of mobile
phones to follow the Games, each with 28% of the population using this device.
Germany had the lowest use of mobiles to follow the Games, with 18% using the device to
follow coverage.
4
1.1.3 Television audiences during the Games
The BBC held the domestic television and radio rights for the London 2012 Olympic Games and
Channel 4 had the UK television rights for the Paralympic Games.
More than 51 million people aged 4+ (89.7%) in the UK watched at least 15 consecutive
minutes of Olympics coverage on TV
For UK viewers, the London Olympics was the most-watched Olympics ever, with over 51 million
viewers aged 4+ watching 15 consecutive minutes of Olympics coverage at some point during the
Games. This represented 20% more viewers than the Beijing Games and 14% more than the Athens
Games (source: BARB).
Figure 1.1
2008, 2012
Viewers watching more than 15 consecutive minutes of Olympics on TV: 2004,
Total viewers (000s)
+20% Beijing
+14% Athens
60000
50000
40000
51.9 million
45.7million
41.2 million
30000
20000
10000
0
2004
2008
2012
Athens
Beijing
London
13/Aug – 19/Aug
8/Aug – 24/Aug
25/Jul – 12/Aug
Source: BARB, 15 minutes + consecutive reach. Individuals 4+
More than half of all UK viewers watched at least 15 consecutive minutes of Paralympic
coverage on TV
Figure 1.2 shows similar viewing trends for the Paralympic Games. At 31.6 million viewers (54.9%),
the London Paralympics delivered 141% more viewers than the Beijing Games and 193% more
viewers than the Athens Games.
Channel 4 provided three further channels, created for the sole purpose of carrying Paralympic
coverage, and these channels were watched by an estimated 3.5 million viewers for 15 minutes or
more. This represented 6% of UK viewers watching channels that didn’t exist except during that
period.
5
Figure 1.2
Viewers of at least 15 consecutive minutes of Paralympics on TV: 2004 - 2012
Total viewers (000s)
+141% Beijing
+193% Athens
60000
50000
40000
30000
31.6million
20000
10000
13.1million
10.7million
0
2004
2008
2012
Athens
Beijing
London
17/Sept – 28/Sept
6/Sept – 17/Sept
29/Aug – 9/Sept
Source: BARB. Individuals 4+, 15 minutes+ consecutive reach.
2012 was broadcast on C4/More4/4Seven (C4 Paralympics channels did not report programme data and have
therefore been excluded from the overall total reach). 2008/2004 Paralympic Games were broadcast on BBC
One and BBC Two.
Both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in 2012 attracted peak
audiences of around 27 million viewers
The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games achieved the largest audiences of the
Games, each peaking at around 27 million viewers. The closing ceremony (26.9 million) attracted
35% more viewers than the next-highest audience in 2012: the half hour slot in which the men’s
100m final took place, at 19.8 million viewers.
All of the top five half-hour slots outperformed the top five slots of the last two Olympic Games. The
smallest audience for the 2012 top five slots (for the men’s 200m final) delivered 37% more viewers
than the highest audience in 2004 (the men’s 4x100 relay).
Figure 1.3
Top five half-hour slots for the last three Olympic Games
Men's 200m Final 09/08
Heptathlon, 10K 04/08
Mens 100m Final 05/08
Closing Ceremony 12/08
Opening Ceremony 27/07
Athletics Finals 23/08
Cycling 17/08
Opening Ceremony 08/08
Men's 100m Final 16/08
Closing Ceremony 24/08
Women's 800m Final 23/08
Men's 100m Final 22/08
Opening Ceremony 13/08
Women's 1500m Final 28/08
Men's 4x100 Relay 28/08
0
16,100
16,900
19,800
2012
26,900
27,000
4,200
5,300
5,500
5,500
6,900
8,200
8,500
9,400
9,800
2008
2004
11,700
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Average audience (000s)
6
Source: BARB Individuals 4+, individual programme audience in 000s
The Olympics ceremonies had the highest UK audiences since the Barcelona Games in 1992
Figure 1.4 below compares audiences for the opening and closing ceremony programmes for six
Olympic Games; from the Barcelona Games in 1992 to the London Games in 2012. The Barcelona
Games had the second highest television audiences for the opening and closing ceremonies. As
such, the London Games opening ceremony attracted 115% more viewers than the Barcelona
Games ceremony, and 121% more watched the closing ceremony.
At 24.5 million people aged 4+, the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony ranked the most
watched programme of 2012 to date.
Figure 1.4
Audiences for Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies: 1992-2012
+115%
Barcelona
Average (000s)
25000
Opening Ceremony
+121%
Barcelona
Closing Ceremony
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1992
1996
2000
Sydney
Barcelona
Atlanta
Source: BARB Individuals 4+, average audience
2004
2008
2012
Athens
Beijing
London
Almost half of the UK audience (28.6 million) used the red-button interactive service for
viewing Olympics content
The BBC set out to provide live coverage of every London 2012 Olympic sport from every venue
throughout the day. The BBC’s red button service provided access to three additional channels of
Olympics coverage available to those with Digital Terrestrial television (Freeview). Sky, Virgin Media
and Freesat each offered their subscribers access to the BBC’s 24 live stream channels available in
both standard and high definition.
Across the 24 Olympics channels and the three Freeview red-button interactive channels, over 28.6
million people in the UK watched the Olympic Games for three minutes or more. Twenty-three of the
24 Olympic channels attracted more than 1 million viewers, and three channels attracted more than
10 million viewers. Across the three Freeview channels, 7.1 million viewers tuned in to the mostwatched channel, while 2.3 viewers tuned into the least-watched one.
7
Figure 1.5
Freeview
Viewers of additional Olympics digital channels across cable, satellite and
Total
viewers
(000s)
40000
30000
Freeview
Red Button
24 Olympic channels on cable/satellite
20000
10000
0
Total
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
301 301 302
HD
Source: BARB. 3 minutes+ consecutive reach. 24 Olympic Games channels (labelled as 1-24) on
cable/satellite and three channels on Freeview (labelled as 301, 301 HD and 302). Individuals 4+
Half of those who watched on TV said they did this for convenience
According to Ofcom’s research, half of those who watched on TV (50%) said they did this for
convenience, with a slightly lower proportion (48%) regarding television as a high-quality option to
follow the Games (See Figure 1.6 below).
With 24 red-button channels on cable/satellite and three red-button channels on Freeview, in
addition to the three main channels (BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three), 35% of respondents said that
they were afforded ‘more choice and options of things to watch’.
Figure 1.6
Reasons why UK adults watched London 2012 Olympics on television
It was the only method available to me
It was interactive
78% reported
watching TV
It was easier to locate the highlights
It was cheaper than other forms
It was immediate
It was available at any time of day
There was more choice / options of things to watch
It offered me the best quality pictures / viewing …
It was the most convenient method
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Percentage of UK adultsaged18+
Source: Ofcom market research, September 2012 Q.Why did you choose to follow the Games using this
method? (Multicode) Through scheduled television Base: All respondents who watched any Olympics or
Paralympics coverage using this method (n = 832)
8
1.1.4 Take-up of communications devices and services
Since the Athens 2004 Games, take-up of digital devices and services has grown significantly
According to Ofcom research, take-up of value-added services such as HD, 3D-ready and
connected TVs has grown since the 2004 Olympic Games. Seventy per cent of UK adults own an
HD or HD-ready television in Q1 2012. Nearly half (47%) of adults owned a DVR, compared to 10%
penetration in 2004. Take-up of connected TVs reached 5% of UK households in Q1 2012.
Broadband penetration has also grown since previous Games. In 2004, 16% of UK adults had
access to broadband at home, compared to 76% in Q1 2012. Digital devices such as laptops,
smartphones and tablets were also more prevalent. Four in five UK adults (79%) now own a
PC/laptop/netbook/tablet device, compared to 64% in 2004. Take-up of smartphones among UK
adults reached two in five (39%) in 2012, and take-up of tablets reached one in ten (11%).
Facebook was launched in 2004, and eight years later according to Facebook, there were over a
billion Facebook profiles globally 4. Ofcom research, shows that half of all UK adults aged16 or over
claimed to have an active social networking profile in Q1 2012. Other social networking sites like
Twitter and YouTube, which did not exist during the Athens Games, reported half a billion users
globally, and 4 billion videos being watched on the internet per day, respectively.
Figure 1.7
Device and service penetration in Olympics years: 2004, 2008 and 2012
2004
% UK adults
2008
% UK adults
2012
% UK adults
-
-
70
10
20
47
-
-
6
16
58
5
76
64
69
79
89
92
94
-
-
39
-
-
HD or HD -ready *
DVR
3D -ready *
Connected TV*
Broadband at home (excl.
mobile)
PC/laptop/ netbook*/tablet*
Mobile ownership
Smartphone*
Tablets*
With a social network
profile*
Worldwide figures
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
11
‡
-
30
2004
2008
2012
Launch
100 million profiles
1 billion+ profiles
Not launched
Not launched
3 million users
100 million videos
a day
50
500 million users
4 billion videos a
day
Source: Ofcom Technology Tracker Q1 2004/2008/ 2012. *Did not ask about these devices in 2004,2008 ‡
Q1 2009
Facebook Statistics provided by Facebook http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts (retrieved September 2012)
Twitter Statistics provided by Twitter http://blog.twitter.com/2011/09/one-hundred-million-voices.html
(September 2012)
YouTube Statistics provided by Youtube Youtube stats http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics (retrieved
October 2012)
4
Facebook http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts
9
Almost half (48%) of 25-34 year olds used a mobile phone to follow the Games
In September 2012, Ofcom undertook research into UK adults’ media consumption of the Games.
The research showed that television was the most-used medium for following the Games, with 78%
of UK adults aged 18 and over reporting that they watched the Games on TV (see Figure 1.8 below).
The other media we measured added only 2% additional reach, illustrating the popularity of
television as the main source for following the Games.
Over half of the respondents said that they used a PC to follow the Games, while 41% used catchup TV. More than one in four (28%) used a mobile phone to follow the Games and one in five (22%)
used a tablet.
While television was popular with all age groups, a more nuanced picture emerged in relation to
consumption on PCs, tablets and mobiles. Almost two in three (63%) 18-24 year-olds and 63% of
25-35 year-olds followed coverage on a PC/laptop, while slightly more than two in five adults aged
35+ were likely to do this. Mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones showed even greater
differences in use by age. More than two in five (44%) 18-24 year olds and one in ten (10%) 55-64
year olds used a tablet to follow the Games. Similarly, close to half (45% and 48% respectively) of
UK adults aged 18-24 and 25-34 used a mobile phone to follow the Games, while slightly more than
one in ten (13%) adults aged 55-64 and 2% of adults aged 65+ used a mobile to follow the Games.
Figure 1.8
by age
Type of media used to follow London 2012 Olympic and/or Paralympic Games,
Percentage of UK adults
100%
80%
80%
60%
40%
81%
81%
78% 79% 77%
73% 74%
64%
64%
66%
63% 63%
60% 58% 57%
54% 54%
57%
52%
55%
53%
52%
50%
50%
50%
41%
47%
44%
37%
40%
40%
39% 39%
36%
36%
36%
34%
48%
45%
28%
31%
22% 22%
20%
10%
10%
3%
14%
13%
2%
0%
Any Media
Any Online
Total
Television
18-24
25-34
Newspaper
35-44
Radio
45- 54
PC
55- 64
Tablet
Mobile
65+
Source: Ofcom market research, September 2012
Q. In which of the following ways did you personally follow coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and/or
Paralympic Games and how often did you do follow the Games in this way? (Multicode)
Base: All respondents who watched any Olympics or Paralympics coverage (n = 797) Rebased to all adults
(n=1000)
10
The most-cited reason for using digital devices and services was ‘being available at any time
of day’
According to Ofcom’s research, reasons for choosing to watch the Games on a PC were availability
at any time of day (41%), convenience (28%), and ease of locating the highlights (27%). Similarly,
for those who used catch-up on TV, the most common reason given for using this method was
‘availability at any time of day’ (36%). The other top reasons given for using these devices were:
‘ease of locating the highlights’ (30%) and ‘convenience’ (26%).
With mobile phones and tablets, the stories were slightly different. For those who used mobile
phones, while availability (35%) and convenience (27%) remained top, the third most popular reason
was that it was immediate (17%). People who chose tablets to keep up with the Games gave
availability (32%) as a reason, but also cited best-quality pictures/ viewing experience (23%) and
choice/option of things to watch (21%) as reasons to use the device for the Games.
Figure 1.9
Reasons why people followed the Games using digital devices
0%
10%
20%
Percentage of UK adults aged18+
30%
40%
50%
60%
It was the most convenient method
It offered me the best quality pictures / viewing …
There was more choice / options of things to watch
It was available at any time of day
It was immediate
It was cheaper than other forms
It was easier to locate the highlights
It was interactive
It was the only method available to me
Watching scheduled TV
Using catchup tv
Using a PC
Using a mobile
Using a tablet
Source: Ofcom market research
Q.G6 Why did you choose to follow the Games using this method? (Multicode)
Base: All respondents who watched any Olympics or Paralympics coverage using this method.
On-demand requests to BBC iPlayer from PCs rose by 10% during the month of the
Olympics.
According to BBC iPlayer statistics, on-demand requests to the BBC iPlayer rose in August,
probably driven primarily by Olympics viewing. Total on-demand requests rose from the previous
month to over 197 million; including over 10 million (10%) more requests from PCs, 3 million (21%)
more requests from tablet devices, and 5 million (29%) more requests from mobiles, compared to
the previous month. This unseasonal rise in on-demand requests broke all previous records. In
September 2012 viewing of on-demand content via the BBC iPlayer continued at this higher level,
with 198 million requests, but driven instead by a 22% month-on-month rise in requests via TV
platforms and a 9% rise in requests via tablet devices.
11
Figure 1.10
Number of on-demand requests via BBC iPlayer
Number of requests in millions
153
178
200
150
185
187
190
193
8
3
28
9
190
185
187
9
3
27
10
9
3
28
11
11
3
26
10
113
112
106
109
166
176
8
2
28
8
9
2
28
9
8
3
29
116
120
116
118
5
8
6
10
7
12
10
13
11
12
12
20
12
17
13
15
13
15
13
15
14
17
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
July
6
1
26
8
7
1
29
9
9
9
3
21
9
9
3
21
9
100
50
0
96
197
198
10
3
22
10
11
3
27
113
104
17
18
22
24
Aug
Sep
11
103
99
2011
Unknown
Games Consoles
Internet TV / connected devices
Computers
TV platform operators
Tablets
Source: BBC iPlayer statistics: BBC iStats
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/iplayer-performance-sep12.html
During August 2012, Twitter, BBC Sport and London 2012 websites each saw record unique
audiences
The LOCOG official London 2012 website (www.london2012.com) was created in 2002 5. The
website featured news, a real-time map of the torch relay, venues, tips about how to get around and
medal counts of athletes and countries. It served, and continues to serve, as the official internet
record of the 2012 Games. According to Nielsen statistics, during July 2012, when the torch relay
was being carried ‘virtually’ on the London2012 website, the London2012 website received over 5
million unique visitors from the UK. And in August, while the Games were ongoing, the London 2012
website had 5 million unique visitors. The numbers were double those in May (207%) and June
(211%). Unsurprisingly, once the Games were over, the intensity and volume of internet traffic
declined as the site evolved to provide a legacy function.
According to Nielsen statistics, during August 2012 the BBC Sport section of its website
(www.bbc.co.uk/sport) had 40% more UK visitors via desktop and laptop internet users than in
August of the previous year. With 9.6 million unique visitors in the month of the Olympic Games,
BBC Sport had 14% more people than in the previous month (July) and 33% more than the
subsequent month (September).
Unique audiences to the Twitter website was 19% above its level in August 2011; it received 6.9
million unique visitors from the UK. After the Games, Twitter’s online blog reported huge volumes of
tweets about sports and events, and especially about individual athletes such as Usain Bolt (80,000
tweets per minute) and Andy Murray (57,000 tweets per minute). 6
Twitter
Twitter is a globally-used information network which typically carries 350 million packets of
information per day, posted by users. 7 Each packet is called a ‘tweet’ and can carry informational
text or links to web pages, pictures and audio-visual content. Most tweets are open to the public, and
the content can be measured by simply counting common phrases or indexed phrases. These
phrases are indexed using a hash tag (#) placed in front of the word.
5
http://whois.domaintools.com/london2012.com
http://blog.twitter.com/2012/08/olympic-and-twitter-records.html
7
http://twitter.com/about
6
12
Figure 1.11
computers
Unique audiences of three Olympics-related websites on laptop and desktop
YoY Growth
Twitter+19%
BBC Sport+40%
London 2012+1146%
Unique
Audience(000s)
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Aug-11
Sep 20112 Oct 2011
Nov 2011
Dec 2011 Jan 2012
Feb 2012
Mar 2012
Apr 2012
May 2012 Jun 2012
Jul 2012
Aug 2012
Sep 2012
www.twitter.com
www.BBC.co.uk/Sport
www.London2012.com
Source: Nielsen UKOM
(Netview UK) Unique audience is defined as the total number of unique persons who visited the website or
used an application at least once in the specified reporting period. The (000) designates that the number is in
thousands - for example, 3 million is 3,000 instead of 3,000,000.
On 5 August, the day of the men’s 100m final, tablet and mobile traffic to the BBC Sport
website peaked at 3.4 million unique browsers
Traffic from mobile devices and tablets to the BBC Sport website fluctuated throughout the course of
the Games, peaking on 5 August, the day of the men’s 100m final, at over 3.4 million unique
browsers (see Figure 1.12 below).
The fluctuation followed a cyclical pattern, peaking at weekends. During the first weekend (28-29
July), around 1.7 million unique mobile phone browsers visited the site. Following a mid-week
decline, this figure grew back to over 2.8 million unique users, then declined again and on 11
August, rose to over 1.9 million. Tablet traffic, while not as numerous, followed a similar pattern,
peaking during weekends. Tablet traffic during the Games started at around 160,000 on 27 July and
peaked at over 600,000 on 5 August; a 226% rise since the beginning of the Games.
13
Figure 1.12
Web traffic via tablets and mobile devices to the BBC Sport website
Unique
browsers
(000s)
4000
Tablet
3500
Mobile
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
27-Jul 28-Jul 29-Jul 30-Jul 31-Jul 01-Aug 02-Aug 03-Aug 04-Aug 05-Aug 06-Aug 07-Aug 08-Aug 09-Aug 10-Aug 11-Aug 12-Aug
Source: BBC Digital Olympics blog: BBC iStats
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2012/08/digital_olympics_reach_stream_stats.html
Unique browsers are counts of unduplicated web browser visits to the website. using BBC iStats.
During the Olympics there were an estimated 150 million tweets about the Olympics Games
According to Topsy, the Olympic Games sparked an estimated 150 million tweets between 27 July
and 12 August. This large volume consisted of tweets about Olympics events, mentions of athletic
stars, locations and ceremonies. Compared to another British sporting event, the Wimbledon tennis
championship, ‘Olympic’ or ‘Olympics’ received 16 times more mentions on Twitter.
Olympics stars and locations were also the subject of many tweets. The word ‘Bolt’ (for Usain Bolt)
reached 3.7 million tweets between August 3 and August 10. The closing ceremony of the Olympic
Games featured the Spice Girls: the number of tweets mentioning ‘Spice’ rose during the week of
that event. Between August 10 and August 15 the word ‘Spice’ was mentioned 2.1 million times.
Figure 1.13
Number of tweets about events and Olympics personalities, by date
Olympic Games
150 million tweets about the
Olympic Games between 27
July and 12 August
Tweets (000s)
16000
14,217
14000
12000
10000
2012
3,413 3,768
2,576
2,132
Felix (Baumgartner) Oct
11 - Oct 18
Ryder Cup Sept 28 Oct 5
567
NFL Sept 21 - Sept 28
Paralympic/Paralympics
Aug 31 - Sept 7
1,218 831
Rio Sep 14 - Sep 21
544
London Sep 14 - Sep 21
316
(Notting Hill) Carnival
Aug 24 - Aug 31
2,116
Spice (Girls) Aug 10 Aug 15
1,383
Rio Aug 10 - Aug 15
Olympic/Olympics Jul
27 - Aug 4
Wimbledon Jul 6 - Jul
13
NBA Jun 22 - Jun 29
Rio Jun 8 - Jun 16
(Micheal) Phelps Jul 27
- Aug 3
2,365
1,090 847 1,331 803
London Jun 8 - Jun 15
13
European
Championships Jun 8 Jun 15
0
1,387
(The Queen's Diamond)
Jubilee Jun 1 - Jun 8
2000
1,991
Royal wedding Apr 24 May 1
4000
(Usain) Bolt Aug 3 - Aug
10
2011
6000
London Jul 27 - Aug 3
8000
Source:
Topsy Social media dashboard: numbers of tweets per (time period)
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1.1.5 The international market during the Games
Among eight comparator countries, around three-quarters (75%) of people in each location
said they followed the Games on television
Ofcom’s consumer research covered a range of international markets. Results showed that adults in
Italy and Japan (both at 84%) were the most likely to say that they followed the Games using any
device, 4 percentage points more than in the UK. Those in the USA, France and Germany were the
least likely to say they used any of these devices to follow the Games.
Seventy-eight per cent of UK adults said that they followed coverage of the Olympic and/or
Paralympic Games on scheduled television. A higher proportion of adults in Italy and Japan said
they watched TV, at 83% and 81% respectively. Among the countries that we looked at, Germany
and the US were the least likely to use scheduled television.
About one in five people in the UK used catch-up television to follow Olympics coverage. Across the
nations that we measured, Ofcom research showed that three in five adults in France used catch-up
TV to keep up with the Games. German and Spanish adults (25% and 31% respectively) were the
least likely to use this service.
In terms of radio use, almost half (47%) of UK adults used this as a means of catching up with the
Games. Conversely, in Spain and France, 53% of adults in each country reported using the radio.
Use was lower in Japan and the US, where 26% and 31% reported using the radio for Games
coverage.
In the UK, half of all adults over 18 said that they used a PC to follow the Games. Following the
Games via a PC was highest in Japan and France, at 57% and 53% respectively; and lowest in the
US and Australia, at 46% and 44% respectively.
Adults in Spain and Italy were the most likely to use a tablet computer to follow the Games (24% and
23% respectively), while French and German adults were the least likely (16% and 14%
respectively). Twenty-two per cent of UK adults were likely to use a tablet to follow the Games.
Using mobile devices to follow the Games was slightly higher than the use of tablets, at 28% of
adults in the UK and in Spain. Adults in Germany and Japan, at 18% and 19% respectively, were the
least likely to use a mobile to follow the Games.
Figure 1.14
Means of accessing the Games, by comparator country
Percentage of respondents
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
73%
75%
73%
68%
61%
60%
53%
50%
57%
48%
57%
46%
44%
32%
28%
21%
UK
84%
84%
82%
80%
France
Any Media
Through scheduled Television
Through radio
Through a mobile phone
25%
20%
18%
Germany
Spain
Italy
Any Online
Through catch up/ recorded television
Through a PC
USA
20%
19%
Japan
Australia
TV
Through newspapers/ magazines
Through a tablet computer
Source: Ofcom market research, September 2012
Q. In which of the following ways did you personally follow coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and/or
Paralympic Games and how often did you do follow the Games in this way?
Base: All respondents (weighted base) (n = 9000) UK=1000, France=1000, Germany=1000, Spain=1000, Italy
= 1000, USA =1000, Japan=1000, Australia=1000
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