This time around, the revenue generated by these hydration break commercials will likely be marginal. Fox did not tout the inventory during its upfronts, and buyers are unaccustomed to budgeting for it. Critically, Fox also scored a sweetheart deal in its right to broadcast the World Cup in the U.S., owing to a negotiation that occurred in 2014, according to The New York Times.
As a result, Fox is only paying around $500 million to air the tournament, about a third of what experts say the rights should cost. The low cost base means that any incremental revenue, such as these novel ad breaks, is a windfall to the company even if sold at a low rate.
But if this tournament proves to be a precedent, and the hydration break rights eventually become a standard part of the World Cup, broadcasters could market the in-game ads as some of the most coveted commercial air time in global media.
FIFA has yet to say whether the hydration breaks will continue after 2026, but the 2030 and 2034 tournaments will be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, respectively, all countries where summertime temperatures can reach extremes.
A revenue squeeze
The introduction of these in-game ads is a byproduct of a larger trend reshaping the media landscape.
In recent years, as audiences have fragmented and mass viewership has disappeared, live sports have remained one of the last reliable means of reaching a large, engaged audience.
As such, professional leagues like the NFL and NBA have raised the price of the right to broadcast their games, forcing broadcasters to fork over a cumulative $110 billion to air NFL games and $76 billion for the NBA. The NFL, in all likelihood, is planning to force its media partners to renegotiate and pay even more for its broadcast rights before their current contract expires.
The media partners paying these fees, which include legacy brands like Disney and CBS, as well as new-money firms like YouTube and Netflix, are dedicating larger and larger portions of their budgets to financing these deals. Sports’ share of global content spending jumped from 17% to 26% between 2023 and 2025, as I reported last month.
