The expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to deliver more football minutes than ever before. With the tournament growing from 32 to 48 teams, the number of matches has risen from 64 to 104, spanning 38 days.
For commercial rights-holders, that means one thing: more advertising inventory.
The increase in matches naturally creates more commercial breaks. There are also be more high-stakes finales to knockout matches. In both 2018 and 2022, five knockout games were decided by shoot-outs. Applying the same ratio to the expanded format suggests as many as 10 matches could require extra time and penalties in 2026.
Each of these fixtures will create additional premium advertising opportunities, including:
- Higher audiences for the full-time break
- An additional break before the penalty shoot-out
- A further break immediately after penalties
FIFA is also allowing rights-holders to show advertising during the three-minute hydration breaks in each half. For those that monetise them, the number of ad breaks per standard-duration match increases from four to six.
Combined, the expanded tournament, additional knockout fixtures, and hydration breaks are expected to generate almost double the number of ad breaks per rights-holder than the last World Cup.
The value of hydration breaks
The utilisation of hydration-break advertising varies by market. In the UK, Ofcom regulations limit advertising to a maximum of 12 minutes per clock hour, with an average of seven to eight minutes per hour across the broadcast day. Other markets have fewer restrictions.
Speaking to the BBC, University of Pennsylvania professor Rob Di Gisi suggested hydration-break advertising could be worth around $1 billion globally.
The appeal is not simply the additional inventory; it is the audience size at the time of the ads. If we look at England’s opening game against Croatia, you can see how the ad breaks map out.
Football audiences typically build throughout a match, reaching their peak ahead of the first hydration break. Audiences tend to decline sharply at half-time and again immediately after the final whistle. But for those shorter hydration breaks, they are staying tuned.
Analysis from multiple rights holders shows hydration-break advertising consistently attracts larger audiences than many traditional break positions. In this match, the most popular ad break came at the start of half-time, with the first hydration break commanding just 0.15 per cent fewer viewers. The second hydration break also outperformed all other traditional advertising slots.
Linear or non-linear?
Broadcasters are taking different approaches to monetising the breaks. Some are running traditional linear commercials, while others are experimenting with non-linear formats.
Telemundo in the USA, for example, has deployed sponsor-branded overlays while maintaining the live video feed and commentary, allowing viewers to stay connected to the action.
Industry initiatives such as the IAB Tech Lab’s Ad Format Hero programme are poised to accelerate the adoption of non-linear formats. The initiative has standardised overlays, lower-thirds, squeezebacks, and side-by-side presentations, and the IAB is currently working to simplify trading, delivery, and measurement across platforms. Such standardisation creates a path to widespread adoption, rather than relying on bespoke ad campaigns like Telemundo’s.
Importantly, these formats are not tied exclusively to Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI). They can also be deployed using Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI), making adoption simpler for broadcasters that already operate SSAI workflows. This means we are likely to see them sooner rather than later, perhaps even at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, should hydration breaks feature there.
As rights-holders appraise the new dynamics of monetising major tournament football, one thing is clear: the commercial opportunities afforded by Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) have a lot more to offer yet.
