"The 2026 FIFA World Cup is shaping up to be a landmark moment. Not only is it expanding to include more teams and arriving on North American soil, but it will also illustrate a new reality for premium television: Audiences can be massive and still hard to pin down. Live sports remain one of the most reliable sources of concentrated attention, but the path to that attention is increasingly fragmented."
"While broadcast rights still anchor distribution for an event like the World Cup, rights alone no longer guarantee predictable reach. Viewers may start with the primary broadcaster, but how they discover matches, shift between devices and supplement live viewing now varies widely. Many fans are building hybrid viewing habits across linear TV, broadcaster apps and virtual multichannel video programming distributors, even when the rights holder is clear."
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will expand team participation and take place in North America, creating massive potential audiences that are increasingly fragmented. Live sports continue to generate concentrated, appointment viewing, yet viewers now discover and join matches across linear TV, broadcaster apps, virtual multichannel video programming distributors and streaming platforms. Broadcast rights still anchor distribution, but rights no longer guarantee predictable reach as many fans build hybrid viewing habits. Soccer’s lighter in-play ad load shifts advertising opportunity to pre-game, post-game, highlights and analysis. Advertisers must adopt adaptive, cross-platform strategies and make real-time plan adjustments to capture viewers.
Read at Digiday
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