Fox Sports is refusing to cave to fan pressure over mid-half World Cup commercials and has instead continued airing the unpopular advertisements as teams go through mandatory hydration breaks.
There had been some optimism among fans that the network would forgo breaking away from the live feed to air full-screen advertisements midway through the first and second halves of each World Cup game. On Thursday, as Mexico and South Korea were tangling in Guadalajara, Fox maintained an inset of the stadium feed as ads continued streaming alongside.
But that was not the case on Friday as the United States faced off with Australia in Group D. Despite temperatures sitting at a comfortable 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius), both teams still took part in the mandatory hydration breaks, which allowed Fox to once again cut away to commercial.
‘”Match break sponsored by Lenovo” is how the Fox broadcast team introduced the “hydration break,”‘ one fan pointed out on X.
‘Fox was doing the split screen ads for hydration breaks yesterday they gave up on that today,’ another wrote, adding: ‘[Just] full ads before the next quarter.’
The advertisements have been an unwelcome addition to the 2026 World Cup as viewers have complained about having a three-minute interruption in the middle of each half.
Christian Pulisic, top center, and teammates listen to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, bottom center, speaks to his players during a hydration break on Friday in Seattle
Team Australia grabs some water during Friday’s hydration break with temps in the mid-70s
And thanks to those FIFA-mandated three-minute hydration breaks, Fox is on track to pocket an additional $250 million from the extra commercials, Front Office Sports reported before the network moved to a split screen on Friday.
To keep players, fans, and staff safe, tournament chiefs have adapted to the rising heat risks with more evening matches in hotter cities and one mandatory hydration break per half. Furthermore, matches may be postponed if the wet–bulb globe temperature (WBGT) – a measurement of humid heat – hits 89.6°F (32°C).
But while those decisions have been well received, the three-minute hydration breaks have been slammed by soccer fans as a needless interruption and obvious cash grab. Public reaction was at its worst during the opener between Mexico and South Africa, when Fox was late cutting back from commercial and fans missed several seconds of action.
‘Fox Sports was playing so many commercials during the hydration break that the game restarted before they were done,’ one fan wrote. ‘Enough, man. Stop this f***ing nonsense.’
American soccer fans in Brattleboro, Vermont watch about 10 minutes before the break
‘Is @FOXSports seriously showing commercials in the middle of a half of World Cup football? What the f*** is going on? This is embarrassing,’ said another.
‘Commercial breaks mid match during the hydration breaks are going to ruin this world cup for Americans. Disgusting practice from Fox….’ posted a third.
According to The Athletic’s Henry Bushnell, FIFA’s rules for broadcasters during hydration breaks are that any cut-away ad break should not start within 20 seconds of the referee’s whistle pausing play, and the match feed should return more than 30 seconds before play resumes.
Unlike Fox, Spanish-language rightsholder Telemundo has promised to not cut to full-screen commercials during the hydration breaks, although it could use some picture-in-picture ads.
Sports Business Journal previously reported that Fox will use some of the hydration breaks for commercials and others for mid-game analysis.
