NEW DELHI: Mobile became the second most popular medium after TV in Asia-Pacific for watching the recent FIFA World Cup, according to a new report which also found the tournament was regarded as the 'most social event ever'.

A full 80% of football fans in the region used multiscreen TV and smartphones to watch matches, a higher rate of multiscreen engagement than the global average, said Vdopia, an online and mobile video advertising firm. Just over half (56%) used tablets.

Furthermore, 250,000 Indian unique viewers visited football sites every day via their mobile devices with social buzz volumes reaching their highest between 8pm and 4am, the Financial Express reported.

Commenting on the findings, Preetesh Chouhan, VP Asia-Pacific at Vdopia, said a typical viewer watched a match, checked updates from FIFA, shared the highlights on a mobile, updated them on Facebook and then looked for information on a tablet.

He said: "'My time', 'my content' and 'my device' is where today's consumer is moving. TV no longer gets undivided attention as consumers are consuming more and more content on their smartphones and tablets. Multi-screening is here to stay."

Separately, LIVSports.in, India's official mobile and internet broadcaster of the tournament, reported that Indian viewers spent an average of 28 minutes watching the live streaming of matches across online, mobile and the tablet LIV Sports app.

It also said 83% of the total viewers in India were aged 18-34 years while women made up a quarter.

The maximum percentage of unique views came from six metropolitan areas (53%), LIV Sports said, with Mumbai and Delhi on 13% each, followed by Bengaluru (10%).

Data sourced from Financial Express, LIV Sports; additional content by Warc