Soccer fans railed against one rule change mandated for every match at this year’s FIFA World Cup. The CEO of Fox Sports thinks it should be a permanent change.
Fox experienced rousing success during this year’s World Cup as the company shattered records for soccer viewership throughout the tournament.
The final between Spain and Argentina drew 38.9million viewers on Fox – a number which, when combined with the 23.9m viewers on Spanish-language Telemundo, made it the most-watched soccer telecast in American history.
Other records were shattered for the United States’ Round of 16 match against Belgium as well as the England-Mexico matchup in the same round.
But Fox has drawn some criticism throughout the tournament, including for their choice to air full-screen advertisements during the mandatory hydration breaks FIFA implemented for each World Cup match.
While fans blasted the company for doing such a thing, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks believes the breaks should become a fixture of soccer going forward. ‘I think it has made the games more close,’ Shanks told Variety – saying the breaks lead to fewer ‘blowouts’ in scoring.
Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks believes hydration breaks should be a permanent fixture in soccer
Shanks believed the adoption of mandatory hydration breaks made for fewer ‘blowouts’
He also stood by analyst Alexi Lalas, who faced criticism from fans throughout the tournament
He added that the breaks ‘mak[e] a difference for players to be able to collect their thoughts’ and for coaches to discuss tactics. Shanks believes this has ‘probably been a positive for the game.’
Hydration break advertising was part of the over $666million in total World Cup ad revenue across linear television and streaming, according to Guideline.
Fox generated ‘up over 100 billion minutes of consumption’ said the company’s president of insights and analytics, Michael Mulvihill.
‘It’s almost a hard figure to even contextualize, but it’s similar to what you’d see at an Olympics or similar to what you might see for an NFL package,’ Mulvihill explained.
Shanks also defended the company’s continued use of Alexi Lalas, the on-air analyst who has been criticized by fans foreign and domestic for his partisan attitudes.
He says the strong reaction from fans is ‘what everybody hopes for when you produce television.’
‘The worst thing in the world is showing something and finding out that people didn’t care,’ Shanks added.
This World Cup marked the end of Fox’s contract with FIFA to broadcast the World Cup – with bidding for the 2030 World Cup expected to draw expensive bids from the likes of ESPN.
