Olympics viewers set for second-screening

Close to two third of UK viewers of the Olympics on TV will use an internet-connected device at the same time, according to research by marketing technology outfit RadiumOne.

Based on an online survey of 1,000 adults by Mindover, 64% of viewers will use a second-screen device, with online activity unrelated to the Olympics accounting for 53% of second-screen users. Some 31% will use devices for chat and instant messaging about the event they are watching, while 30% will use devices to search for event-related information or chat on the phone about what’s on TV.

Nearly all – 97% – of Olympic TV viewers will watch it at home, much higher than the 58% that watched the Euro 2016 football championships at home. Only 20% plan to watch the Olympics at a pub or bar.

The Olympics is much less of a social viewing experience than the Euros, which is good news for advertisers as attention is much more likely to be on the TV or a connected device than other people or surroundings,” said Craig Tuck, RadiumOne’s UK managing director. “Further good news is the large amount of second-screening enables sponsors and other advertisers looking to get in on the act to target viewers with a similar profile to the TV audience online during broadcasts, which they can’t do on TV as it’s on the BBC.”