Fox Sports on Thursday night during Mexico-South Korea deployed a picture-in-picture approach during the second-half hydration break, which is the first time it has used the approach as part of its “hybrid” effort with hydration breaks. Full-screen ads had been used in each hydration break during the first week of the event. The second break during Mexico-South Korea saw both ads and on-field footage. Fox had a smaller box on the left of the screen keeping the focus on the match break, while a larger box to the right displayed ads. The live action included shots of the teams hydrating and fans celebrating, followed by replays from earlier in the match. Meanwhile, on the right side of the screen, ads from Adidas, Bank of America and Coca-Cola were shown over the course of a minute-and-a-half before cutting back to the action. During each ad break, the background of the screen would change -- light blue for Adidas, dark blue for Bank of America and red for Coca-Cola -- while displaying the company’s ad beneath the small left box. Mexico-South Korea, which started at 9pm ET, was the final match of the day (SBJ).
NOT HAPPENING: In London, Morgan & Mendick reported UEFA will “not adopt FIFA’s mandatory drink breaks” that has prompted boos during World Cup matches. Despite increasingly hot summers in Europe, UEFA has confirmed it “has ‘no plans’ to follow suit” at the 2028 Euros, co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. UEFA policy says that for all competitions, the “need for any drink breaks in European football is assessed on a case-by-case basis ‘if high temperatures are expected’” (London TELEGRAPH, 6/19).
BAD FLOW: In London, Toby Young wrote this World Cup has been “great” but there is “one glaring exception: the hydration breaks.” The breaks “interrupts the flow of the match, robs a dominant side of momentum” (London TELEGRAPH, 6/18).
