With the World Cup becoming more and more a national cultural experience as well as a sporting event, almost as many women as men now watch the World Cup on TV. The female share of viewing has so far peaked at 47% for England v Sweden, but this interest does not extend beyond TV.
Initiative's Real Youth panel monitoring the media and consumer behaviour of 16- to 24-year-olds reveals young men are more likely to interact with the World Cup via new media than young women, outside of the 90 minutes of TV coverage per match.
Young men are more than twice as likely to go online to read about World Cup 2006 as young women. Seven out of every 10 male respondents chose to go online to read about the World Cup, compared with only three in every 10 women. In contrast, there is no gender split for internet usage in general among people in the 16-24 age group. Men in the 16-24 year group are also nearly three times more likely than women to interact via the red button to see extra content around the World Cup.
Women are more likely to be interested in the World Cup as an event of cultural importance and for the celebrity element, rather than the action itself. They are less willing to commit to the World Cup outside of the 90 minutes of each match broadcast.
With men connecting with the World Cup in many more ways -- including reading about the latest news and reviews online -- there are many more opportunities for advertisers to reach this audience.
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