Following A Multiscreen Olympics

Some Big Data metrics from Google illustrate the complementary nature of TV viewing and use of online and mobile devices.

The graph looks at the spikes in searches for Paul McCartney, who concluded the Opening Ceremony with a rendition of "Hey Jude."

"One of the significant things to note about the spikes Google saw in online searches for the former Beatle is their timing. Spikes were detected concurring with the performance by those searching in Europe. In the United States, where NBC delayed the ceremony spikes in searches for the former Fab Four member synced up with the East Coast and Pacific replay of the performance."

Google also reported that at times, searches from mobile devices outpaced those from laptops or desktops.   In Japan, 55% of searches were from mobile devices; Great Britain (46%), Australia (45%) and Korea (36%) were the other countries with high mobile shares.

 Meanwhile, a Pew study suggests that Americans are increasingly using "second screens" to supplement their TV viewing.  When it comes to the Olympics, some 80% of respondents indicated they had watched some of the Games on TV (23% watched live coverage), while 17% reported following the Games online, and 12% said they used social media to follow the Games.  Respondents also rated the quality of coverage from the various sources positively, and at about the same level.

Source -  Olympics-related search spikes reveal close tie between first, second screens, Broadcast Engineering.
Americans augment Olympics TV viewing with social networks, online video, finds Pew, Broadcast Engineering