The 2026 World Cup has seen the “hydration break” become a point of contention, with in-stadium fans repeatedly booing (and the FIFA-fearful broadcasters not inclined to mention it) and Fox laughing all the way to the bank.
Fox is widely expected to make at least half of its total World Cup rights fee of $485 million through the pressing of the three-minute-per-half Bobby Boucher button.
So what’s the future of hydration breaks? John Ourand of Puck reports that senior FIFA officials are “torn” on the issue. They continue to hear complaints from interests beyond the U.S., and FIFA is “thin-skinned” on the issue. (Imagine that — a rich and powerful sports league being thin-skinned.)
On the other hand, money.
As Ben Strauss of ESPN recently explained, broadcast-rights deals for soccer aren’t on the same trajectory as the ever-increasing NFL TV contracts. Instead, the rights fees are shrinking. One simple way to increase revenue for the games is to give the broadcast partners a way to generate more revenue during the broadcast.
That’s the heart of the issue. At its core, soccer is a business. And until the powers-that-be embrace that (without wearing it on their sleeves), they won’t get the most out of the business.
In football, the slogan is “football is family” because it’s good for business to say “football is family” and not “football is business.”
In soccer, they need to keep calling it the “beautiful game” because it’s good for business to say “beautiful game” and not “beautiful business.”
It won’t be a beautiful business until FIFA and the various pro leagues become willing to help the folks they’re doing business with to maximize the business return on their investment in televising the games.
