Hydration breaks during the group stage of the FIFA World Cup had only a minimal impact on TV audience loss, and far less than the audience decline seen from halftime breaks of matches, according to an analysis by Octagon Media Rights Consulting.
Matches on Fox and FS1 have only had a 2-3% audience decline during those breaks, which have predominantly gone to full-screen ads as part of a hybrid approach (some breaks have been picture-in-picture).
“It’s not nearly the impact that you think it would have,” said Octagon Media Rights Consulting Director Justin Beitler. “I don’t think the actual viewer thinks it’s that big of a deal. We’re also so used to commercial breaks in sports in the U.S.”
The average halftime audience decline for World Cup matches was 14%, which was even with what the loss was for events like the recent AFC and NFC Championship games. But it’s well below the NBA Finals, which saw a 24% decline after halftime.
Telemundo, which has not done full-screen hydration breaks and has stayed with a camera on the pitch (with some picture-in-picture), saw its group stage match viewership continue to build during the same stoppages.
There also has been speculation about whether a league like MLS could use hydration breaks to increase its media rights value. Beitler believes there could be something there commercially.
“Growth has stagnated,” Beitler said, referencing the glut of soccer streaming deals. “Part of that is because the advertising inventory isn’t substantial. If you can add [hydration breaks] in and grow that advertising inventory even a little bit, that’s certainly helpful.”
