From Streisand Nito

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters Sports Service) - With hot weather expected and memories of the sweltering 2025 Club World Cup being played in scorching conditions, FIFA has for the first time mandated three-minute water breaks in each half of all 104 matches of the tournament, which kicks off this week in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

While the players recover their energy and the viewers may be having some snacks, broadcasting networks have a new and significant opportunity to give advertisers extra time during peak hours and increase their revenues.

These breaks will be another example of the World Cup's emulation of American-style sporting events filled with loud commercials, as the final scheduled for July 19 will feature a halftime show by Colombian singer Shakira, in a simulation of the Super Bowl.

FIFA says that the introduction of water breaks stems from its concern for player safety, but it may also support the growth of media rights revenues, as television channels now have a greater incentive to compete, driven by these profit opportunities.

Such stoppages were first implemented in the World Cup during the Netherlands-Mexico match in 2014 in Brazil when temperatures exceeded 32 degrees Celsius, and were subsequently subject to evaluation on a match-by-match basis.

Michael Johnson, a research analyst specializing in the U.S. sports industry at S&P Global, told Reuters that adding water breaks could be "extremely high-value, and could command prices comparable to the Super Bowl, ranging from approximately seven to nine million dollars."

Advertisers are aware of the reach they can achieve from the World Cup, as the 2022 final in Qatar between Argentina and France reached 1.42 billion viewers.

Johnson added, "Viewers in the United States are used to the four-quarter model of the NFL and the NBA; they are used to stoppages during play, and this World Cup essentially mimics those models."

In contrast, European football matches in competitions such as the English Premier League are traditionally broadcast via pay-TV networks such as the British network (Sky), where the audience watches advertisements before the matches, at halftime, and after they end.

Francois Godard, an independent analyst specializing in the sports industry, said, "I think subscription-based broadcasters like Sky in Britain would be very happy to get additional advertising space."

However, following this advertising model during matches may face an angry reaction from fans in non-American markets due to the Americanization of the event, especially in Europe where most league competitions are played in winter.

Johnson continued, "Football is known for its continuous play, and traditional fans feel a certain apprehension about the game being Americanized, which could bore viewers. An increase in advertising could upset fans, especially if they feel it is intrusive or excessive."

Increased stoppages are alienating European fans.

Organized stoppages may dampen the enthusiasm of fans who are already fed up with frequent multi-minute pauses for VAR review.

A survey conducted by the Premier League Football Supporters' Association showed that only 3.3 percent of fans found that the technology improved the matchday experience.

It is not yet clear how many global broadcasting networks are carrying the World Cup and which will use the water breaks to display advertisements.

In Britain, the birthplace of football, ITV has already announced that it will not show advertisements during water breaks due to strict advertising restrictions imposed by the British broadcasting regulator.

Godard said, "ITV has regulatory issues on its mind, and that's its primary concern, but it also has to meet viewers' expectations. I'm not sure British viewers will welcome more advertising."

Meanwhile, the expanded tournament, featuring 48 teams instead of the previous 32, will contribute to FIFA's total revenue for 2026 reaching $8.9 billion, with television broadcasting rights accounting for 44 percent of this contribution, according to FIFA's 2026 budget.

FIFA has not yet clarified whether water breaks will become a permanent feature of future tournaments, but in the 2030 edition in Spain, Portugal and Morocco and the 2034 edition hosted by Saudi Arabia, temperatures during the usual period between June and July could well exceed 30 degrees Celsius.

The overlap between growing media rights cycles and water breaks could lead to fierce competition and bidding wars between digital streaming platforms and traditional broadcast networks for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, even though the rights to the 2030 version have already been awarded in some regions.

Johnson said, "We're likely to see digital streaming giants like Apple and Amazon enter the competition, and I think Netflix in particular will be in the running," noting that Fox Sports' World Cup rights deal, the sports programming arm of US media company Fox, ends after the 2026 tournament.

The giant digital streaming platform Netflix owns the rights to broadcast the Women's World Cup in 2027 and 2031 in the United States, adding it to the live sporting events it offers, which include TKO's WWE wrestling championships and NFL games.