DIRECTV Latin America Wraps Up Successful Coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™
Delivering the best entertainment experience with an incomparable mix of content, DIRECTV Latin America is committed to technology and service. And this time, we made it happen once again.
For the 6th consecutive time, DIRECTV Latin America covered the FIFA World Cup ™, making the tournament’s programming available to more than 8 million customers in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and the Caribbean.
Customers expressed a high degree of satisfaction with DIRECTV Latin America’s broadcasting of the matches on both TV screens and TV Everywhere (TVE)*, driven by DIRECTV Latin America’s unique offering of the complete transmission of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ on multiple screens, including all 64 games .
Subscribers had the option to watch on TV screens in HD (DIRECTV Sports HD) and for the first time in 4K UHD (DIRECTV 4K); via live streaming through digital devices (DIRECTV Sports App, DIRECTV Sports.com and DIRECTV Play) and, also for the first time and exclusively, in virtual reality (DIRECTV Sports App VR). An interactive mosaic with multi-camera system premiered for both teams in each match, along with the innovative 4K UHD and VR formats.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ was played during working hours for Latin Americans and the DIRECTV Sports’ TVE offer delivered the perfect solution so that no one missed the sporting event’s games.
- More than 1.6 million unique users accessed DIRECTV’s FIFA World Cup content through DIRECTV's TVE platforms, representing an increase of 70% compared to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
- 26 million streaming views, with an average connection time during games of more than one and a half hours, accessed mainly through the DIRECTV Sports App (70%).
- Daily access registered an increase of 160% compared to the 2014 World Cup, with an average of 6 million unique visits.
The success of DIRECTV Latin America’s TVE platform during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ has been reflected in the endorsement and opinion of experts and users in general. The App Store twice selected the DIRECTV Sports App, which had more than 1 million downloads during the sporting event, as the application of the day (June 14 and July 15). The DIRECTV Sports App was also the most downloaded sports app in some days and the most recommended app in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela during the last World Cup.
Just as the TVE platforms played an important role during the last World Cup, we were also active on our social channels, with minute-by-minute coverage from Russia. There were more than 600,000 DIRECTV Latin America mentions. #ElMundialenDIRECTV was used over 400,000 times. And the coverage garnered 90 trending topics. Live coverage included 40 Facebook Live streams reaching more than 8 million people as well as more than 250 total hours of real-time coverage (across different platforms).
Most viewed matches
On the TVE platforms the most watched match was Uruguay vs France (quarterfinal on July 6), followed by Colombia vs England (quarterfinal on July 3) and, then by France vs. Argentina (round of 16 on June 30).
The first to arrive and the last to leave
This is the DIRECTV Sports team’s motto and is what they always hope to accomplish. There were more than 100 people working in Russia distributed among the IBC (International Broadcast Center), the Red Square studio, in the stadiums where matches were covered and other places of interest. They totaled more than 1,000 hours of production of original content, completing more than 300 live program broadcasts featuring 35 journalists and recognized football celebrities from all over Latin America.
Social Commitment
As part of its commitment to the community, DIRECTV Latin America supported the Powerchair Football Foundation. For every goal scored during the event, DIRECTV Latin America committed to donating US$100. The total donation reached US$ 24,000, thanks to the 195 goals scored.