So far, I've looked at streaming app downloads in the US -- where many are skipping cable and instead streaming the World Cup on their phones. But the games are in Qatar.
How are the locals watching the games?
Instead of "how" I should really be asking "how many", because the answer to "how" is too simple -- they're streaming!
To get a broad view of downloads in Qatar I took a look at the Mobile Download Index for Qatar and the trend is hard to miss. Even if I were only skimming the charts!
The index for the _Entertainment_category in the App Store, the category that's home to all streaming apps, has grown 116% since the games began.
The sharpest increase in growth in Qatar,
Wait, what??? In case you're not familiar, the Mobile Download Index charts the downloads of the top apps in each category and country over time so you can quickly see if it's growing or shrinking and by how much. The Mobile Download Index is a free resource many developers rely on to give their own trends context. There's also a Mobile Revenue Index
Yes, streaming is the future.
The same seven apps held the same seven download spots. Revenue told a different story, and a short-drama app from Singapore crashed the top 10.
MLB app downloads jumped 43% this February while revenue climbed to $3.5M, signaling a stronger season ahead for baseball on mobile.