Cricket fans are looking forward to watching this summer’s Ashes series on their mobiles, with one in three online video starts for the Ashes expected to come from mobile, according to new research.
New research from Adobe examined social media buzz building up to the first match between England and Australia this week.
Adobe Digital Index (ADI) analysed social media mentions around the Ashes from blogs, Facebook, Google+, Reddit, Twitter, Dailymotion, Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr, VK, Disqus, Foursquare, Metacafe, WordPress, and YouTube.
The analysis revealed that in the run-up to the series, 10% of the buzz had mentioned watching the Ashes on mobile. But when UK broadcaster Sky, which has the rights to live coverage of the series, announced that fans could once again watch matches live on the Sky Go app, posts related to the Ashes increased by 146%.
Other findings include:
• Australia – which is ranked the second-best Test team in world cricket after South Africa – is currently favourite to win
• However, UK players have fared the most popular in terms of social presence, with Joe Root topping the list, followed closely by fellow Brit Jimmy Anderson. Aussie David Warner came a close third
• Sentiment analysis shows 52% of the buzz around the England team relates to admiration and joy, compared to 56% for the same emotions around Australia
• Social media mentions for England have surged. This is in part due to the recent call-up for fast bowler Mark Footitt, which increased the social buzz around the England team by 48% overnight