Fox Sports is “likely to collect” at least $250M, with a plausible value of $500M-$600M from advertisers for ads that run “under the notorious tag of a ‘hydration break,’” according to Zeitchik & Weprin of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Sources noted that the average cost of a 30-second spot during the tournament is between $200,000 and $750,000, “depending on a match’s participants” and the stage of the tournament as “knockout stages amp up the interest.” With six minutes of hydration breaks, that adds up to anywhere between $2.5M and $9M per game, and with 104 games and buyers grabbing packages that can run tens of millions, a “plausible total” could be above $500M. Fox paid less than that for the tournament rights. Fox has been able to charge as much for an ad because the games “are being played on North American soil and thus in ideal, often primetime, windows.” Fox Sports VP/Production Zac Kenworthy added that the time zones “were a ‘game changer’ for the network’s coverage.” Paired with a compelling USMNT, and huge international stars such as Argentina F Lionel Messi and Norway F Erling Haaland “getting prominent placement, it is a recipe for a windfall.” For Telemundo, they do not run full-on ads during the hydration breaks, instead “kicking it back to the studio.” The network’s ratings have been solid, but a source added that Spanish-language rights “are a trickier sell for some advertisers” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/22).
NEW APPROACH: In L.A., Cerys Davies noted Fox has adopted a split-screen approach to ads during the World Cup’s mandatory hydration breaks, after a “stir among viewers over how it had been handling the pauses.” At the start of the tournament, the network aired full-screen ads during the three-minute breaks. By last week’s Mexico-South Korea match, Fox had changed course, “running split-screen advertisements for the first time: two side-by-side panels, one keeping the camera on the stadium while the other played a commercial.” The approach “hasn’t been consistent.” For Friday’s USMNT-Australia match, the network “reverted to full-screen ads” (L.A. TIMES, 6/22).
COACH VIEWS: England coach Thomas Tuchel said the break “interrupts and changes the identity of a football match much more than I thought.” He added, “Of course, I’ve had hydration breaks before when it was really hot and necessary, but those were shorter and only occurred in a few matches. Now, from a standpoint of fairness to every team, it breaks the match almost into four quarters. I think it changes the characteristics of the match more than I expected.” Tuchel: “As a coach, I like having the opportunity to influence the team and gather them together, but overall, I prefer football when it’s played in one go per half. It builds momentum. It’s hard to build and keep momentum when there are breaks” (London TIMES, 6/23). Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said, “I like the hydration break. Even if in this air-conditioned stadium a hydration break wasn’t really necessary. But it gives us coaches the opportunity to tweak some things and to give some messages to our players and we will try to use this.” He added that is why he is “generally not against the hydration break.” Rangnick said that he is “excited about the possibility of implementing hydration breaks in Europe during matches in international and club play” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/22).
