Qatar 2022: Viewers express interest in metaverse and interactive viewing experiences, Amdocs report finds

The findings of The World Cup 2022 Viewing Report, conducted by Dynata and commissioned by Amdocs, suggest viewers are largely ready for a new era of amazing interactive entertainment offerings and are willing to pay for digital products and services that make their experience more enjoyable. However, not having access to viewing the World Cup, coupled with questions around network reliability, could hinder this evolution.

Sports fans who plan to watch this year’s World Cup were questioned for the report. When asked if they would be willing to pay extra for an unlimited World Cup-specific mobile data package to stream matches at 5G speeds with no delays or loss of connectivity, almost half were interested. In addition, social is playing a key role in how viewers, especially younger generations, plan to watch this year’s tournament.

While most fans (78%) are confident in their home connectivity to support their World Cup viewing, confidence drops when it comes to their mobile network (57%). Accessibility is also a concern, with 18% of respondents stating they don’t have access to all games from their TV provider.

Viewers did, however, express 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. Gen-Z (42%) and millennials (39%) are the most interested, while a quarter (25%) of Gen-X respondents were also keen.

SVG’s Qatar 2022 blog All the broadcasting and production news from the FIFA World Cup

Beyond the metaverse, viewers have a growing desire for more interactive experiences like 360-degree live video of the game, interactive in-game challenges and AR/VR experiences.

“As 5G continues to grow, we expect to see more service providers having unique ‘experience packages’ beyond a simple blanket of 5G speeds for all offerings – for instance, a connection specifically for entertainment experiences, the metaverse and more. As experiences become more à la carte, there is a need for a new kind of approach that can be fine-tuned and uniquely tailored to end-users. This will be essential to be a player in a new digital world, including next-generation entertainment experiences made possible by a reliable network,” said Anthony Goonetilleke, group president of technology and head of strategy, Amdocs.

“These findings show that consumers now have new, specific criteria that determine value from their service and content providers, and they want new ways to engage. It also opens opportunities to rethink how services can be bundled; they can be powered by a diverse ecosystem of partners that delivers best-in-class offerings like 360 video, real-time insights and metaverse experiences. This approach is essential to get right because opportunities to personalise the viewing experience will continue to grow, creating more options, and potential complications, as consumers try to manage their offerings,” said Raman Abrol, general manager at Amdocs and CEO of Vubiquity.

Click here to read the entire report.