{"id":346173,"date":"2026-06-22T22:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T22:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/346173\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T22:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T22:06:19","slug":"fox-pivots-to-partial-ads-during-world-cup-hydration-breaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/346173\/","title":{"rendered":"Fox pivots to partial ads during World Cup hydration breaks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fox has adopted a new split-screen approach to ads during the World Cup\u2019s<\/a> mandatory hydration breaks, following a stir among viewers over how it had been handling the pauses.<\/p>\n

At the start of the tournament, the network aired full-screen ads during the three-minute breaks<\/a>, cutting away from the field during the opening match between Mexico and South Africa<\/a>. Soccer fans complained that they were missing on-field action, and the backlash mounted.<\/p>\n

By the Mexico\u2013South Korea match last week<\/a>, 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\u2019t been consistent, though. For Friday\u2019s U.S.\u2013Australia match<\/a>, the network reverted to full-screen ads.<\/p>\n

Fox declined to comment on the changes.<\/p>\n

Viewers were quick to notice the split-screen format and weigh in on social media<\/a>. \u201cAt least FOX stopped doing the stupid full screen breaks,\u201d one user wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cI can live with split screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Cup so far has posted substantial ratings gains for Fox.<\/p>\n

Throughout the first 16 telecasts of the tournament, the network is averaging over 6 million viewers from Fox and Fox Sports 1<\/a>, up 128% from 2022\u2019s World Cup<\/a> in Qatar. The broadcast of the U.S. team\u2019s first game earlier this month was the most-watched FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup telecast in English-language U.S. history, with over 18 million views, according to the network.<\/p>\n

The hydration break itself is new to the World Cup. FIFA announced it in December as a way to protect players\u2019 health in the summer heat. In every match, the referee is to call for a break around the 22-minute mark of both halves, regardless of the weather.<\/p>\n

In addition to helping the players, these extra minutes created a new advertising window. Networks are allowed to leave the on-field action 20 seconds after the referee signals the hydration break and return 30 seconds before play resumes, allowing for ads of up to two minutes and 10 seconds in total. They can air any full-screen ad they\u2019d like, or run a split-screen ad \u2014 though a split-screen has to feature a FIFA partner, such as Coca-Cola or Adidas.<\/p>\n

Ads during the tournament\u2019s earlier games reportedly cost around $200,000 for a 30-second slot. The price jumps to $750,000 when the U.S. is playing, according to the Wall Street Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n

Any time any rules change in televised sports, the most dedicated fans are going to get upset, said Patrick Rishe, the director of the sports business program at Washington University. Despite all the online uproar, he said that the hydration breaks are overall beneficial, as they allow networks an extra opportunity to recoup revenue and brands to get additional exposure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is commercially fantastic for FIFA and the networks. It\u2019s tactically helpful for the teams, and I do think it\u2019s helpful for growing interest in the sport,\u201d Rishe said. \u201cIt makes it easier for the casual fans to stay engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fox has adopted a new split-screen approach to ads during the World Cup\u2019s mandatory hydration breaks, following a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[123516,150,152,151,7978,123520,37274,10241,123519,21583,123517,5045,123521,21926,123522,1169,123518,3692],"class_list":["post-346173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-ad","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news","tag-backlash","tag-extra-minute","tag-fifa","tag-fox","tag-mandatory-hydration-break","tag-network","tag-opening-match","tag-player","tag-referee","tag-second","tag-three-minute-break","tag-tournament","tag-viewer","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}