50% Indonesians to follow World Cup: Nielsen

JAKARTA - As many as 50 percent consumers in Indonesia will follow football matches of the World Cup 2010 that will kickoff on June 11, an executive said here on Thursday.

Stephen Mitchell, managing director for Consumers at Nielsen Indonesia, a subsidiary of Nielsen Company, a global information and media company, said that global survey conducted by the parent company showed that out of the number, 24 percent favors Brazil to win the competition.

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"24 percent of Indonesians favors Brazil to win, 22 percent for England and 11 percent thinks that Spain will win," he said.

He also said that in the Asia Pacific region Indonesians declare themselves as the most avid followers of football with more than half (54 percent) saying they are fans of the game, followed by Vietnamese (52 percent) and Indians (47 percent).

He also said that Indonesians still favor television as the medium to watch the game.

"77 percent of Indonesians said that they will watch live coverage of the game through television. However, in the Asia Pacific region, only 59 percent will use TV as their main medium," said Mitchell.

He also said that online media and mobile phones will be alternatives to watch the game in Indonesia.

"31 percent said that they will watch live streaming of the matches, 45 percent will read online articles and 32 percent will read through blogs or online forum," he said.

Meanwhile, Mitchell added, with growing penetration of mobile phone, 34 percent will follow the soccer event through mobile Internet and 13 percent will download World Cup-related apps for their phones.