Media and soccer executives see the hydration breaks at this summer’s World Cup are “likely to become a key topic in media rights negotiations going forward,” according to Ben Strauss of ESPN.com. This World Cup has “more effectively monetized a global sport that doesn’t have the same amount of natural ad breaks as football, basketball or baseball.” The breaks “raise questions about the sport’s future: how aggressively American domestic leagues incorporate the breaks; how European leagues address a flattening of broadcast rights money; and how much influence the U.S. has on the global game.” This new dynamic “comes at a vulnerable moment” for several global soccer leagues and their media rights. France’s top domestic league, Ligue 1, has “suffered through a series of failed broadcast partnerships” that have left the league to launch its own direct-to-consumer platform, Ligue 1+. Across Europe, “broadcast revenue is mostly flat.” Additionally, everyone “is chasing the Premier League.” The leagues have responded by “looking for new ways to generate broadcast revenue.” Execs agreed that, given its history and financial might, the Premier League “would almost certainly be the last place to adopt a change.” In the U.S., both the top domestic leagues -- MLS and the NWSL -- will “be negotiating new media deals in the next several years” (ESPN.com, 7/13).
READY FOR CLOSEUP: THE ATHLETIC’s Adam Crafton wrote the World Cup TV broadcasts cutting to FIFA President Gianni Infantino is “one of the unavoidable experiences” for viewers. The production house of the World Cup is called Host Broadcast Service (HBS). It is 49% owned by FIFA but majority owned by parent company Infront, which belongs to the Chinese firm Wanda. HBS provides the television footage, which is then “played out by all rightsholders globally,” including Fox Sports and Telemundo in the U.S. The television companies that acquire rights from FIFA are “obliged to use the footage provided by HBS, meaning it is not a choice by Fox or the BBC to show Infantino in every game.” FIFA says that it “would be misleading to say that it has directed specific shots of its president during games in this World Cup.” However, there is an agreement between FIFA and HBS to “say that there must be a ‘dignitary shot’ in every half of a game in order to showcase the highest-ranking officials present at a game,” as well as those “described by FIFA in its accreditation system as ‘VVIPs’ (Very, Very Important People)” (THE ATHLETIC, 7/13).
