Olympics coverage shifted China’s, India’s viewing habits to more sports, more of the time

In a global survey roundup of attitudes toward mobile TV by Telegent Systems immediately after the 2008 Olympic Games, up to three-quarters of respondents to the survey in both China and India confirmed that they watch mobile TV. With 72 percent of Chinese and 71 percent of Indian consumers surveyed reporting that they have watched mobile TV, this pair of Asian countries rank highest for overall mobile TV viewing.

The survey also revealed, not surprisingly, that mobile TV usage increased significantly in China during the Olympics as consumers tuned in to watch the games on their mobile phones. Prior to the Beijing Games, 43 percent of Chinese respondents stated that they spent up to 30 minutes a day watching mobile TV — a figure that jumped to 58 percent during the Games.

Before the Beijing Games, 36 percent of Chinese respondents named news as their mobile TV favorite, followed by sports at 17 percent and films at 10 percent. During the games, an overwhelming 66 percent of respondents voted Olympic Games coverage their top pick. With the most active mobile TV consumer age group at between 20 and 29 years old, 33 percent of Olympics viewers confessed to watching the Beijing Games on their mobile phones at work — only 30 percent watched on mobile TV at home.

Sixty percent of those who normally prefer to watch the news on their mobiles — as opposed to only 33 percent who prefer sports — completely changed their choices for national events such as the Olympics. A global average of 88 percent ranked the Beijing Games highest, with a staggering 95 percent of those surveyed in India expressing this preference. This was followed by Thailand at 93 percent and Brazil and China at 89 percent. The Olympics was also the first choice of U.S. and UK viewers at 87 and 80 percent, respectively.

For more information, visit www.telegent.com.