The financial winners and losers from the World Cup
While broadcasters have had to shell out big bucks to televise the tournament, the viewing figures - and sponsors wanting their brands on show
While broadcasters have had to shell out big bucks to televise the tournament, the viewing figures - and sponsors wanting their brands on show - mean they are also likely to make a killing in selling slots. Fifa brought in hydration breaks for this World Cup - a move Infantino said was "purely a sporting matter" with no additional revenue for the governing body. However, the 90 seconds for players to get fluids on board has provided a new commercial opportunity for broadcasters and sponsors wanting to show off their brand, especially in the US, where American sports fans have been long used to games effectively being played around the ad breaks.
Fox Sports, who reportedly paid $485m for the US broadcast rights, introduced the hydration intervals as " by" a brand. According to experts, an average 30-second World Cup slot on Fox costs between $200,000 and $300,000. It reached as high as $750,000 during US matches the final stages. It means hydration break could net $250m in the US alone, prompting speculation that they will be here to stay. "The hydration breaks are pure inventory. I'd be extremely surprised if they disappear. The expanded format will stay because scale is now Fifa's business model," says Laboure of Deutsche Bank Research.
Fans in the UK watching games on the BBC or ITV have been shielded from hydration break adverts due to the former not using any and the latter being restricted by regulator rules on the amount of commercials used in a 60-minute period. The official sponsors of the World Cup pay eye-watering sums to associate brands with the competition, but no doubt end up benefiting financially, with the likes of Adidas and Coca-Cola plastered everywhere. The German sportswear brand has been locked in a battle with its arch-rival Nike, spending some £50m on their "backyard legends" ad featuring Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi.
However, some unofficial brands have benefited from Fifa trying to make sure fans see less of them, such as the Levi's logo outside the Levi's stadium in San Francisco being covered up.
The BriefWire