Fox Sports will be taking a hybrid approach to what fans see on-screen for hydration breaks during FIFA World Cup game telecasts, sources tell SBJ. When Fox is addressing “editorial” moments during hydration breaks, sources said there will be a picture-in-picture approach. An example would be one camera on Fox play-by-play announcer John Strong or analysts, with another picture showing what players are doing on the field during the break.
However, Fox will also be deploying some full-screen commercials and promos during the hydration breaks. Those full-screen ads could be lucrative for the network, as World Cup matches have never before had hydration breaks to provide commercial opportunities.
The first three-minute hydration break of the tournament came with just over 24 minutes gone in Thursday’s Mexico-South Africa match. Fox’s Ian Darke introduced the break by saying, “This hydration break is powered by Powerade.” The net then cut to a full-screen commercial break featuring ads from AT&T, Michelob Ultra, Lowe’s and FanDuel, as well as an in-house promo for Friday’s U.S.-Paraguay match.
Telemundo opted against any full-screen ads during hydration breaks on its Spanish-language World Cup telecasts, but the network told SBJ there could be some commercial elements incorporated into a picture-in-picture approach.
