ADWEEK TV Advantage: World Cup Reveals 3 Marketing Lessons to Add a Real Kick

The 2026 FIFA World Cup brought record viewership and kicked up some marketing trends. Now, it's time to game plan for the future. Overall, the 2026 World Cup, held in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, was a rousing success for marketers. For instance, the final, showcasing Spain's extra-time win over Argentina, drew over 66 million viewers across Fox and Telemundo, according to final Nielsen figures, making it the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history. Meanwhile, tech and data company Samba told ADWEEK that over 75% of U.S. households watched at least one World Cup Match, with the average coming to 12 games and 13 hours per household. And several brands capitalized, with the likes of Kalshi, Adidas, and Oura Ring creating ads for the tournament that were hundreds of times more impactful than the industry average. With all that viewership in mind, Samba dug into the data for ADWEEK. Here are some quick takeaways advertisers should add to their playbooks. In the short term: A pitch for the right context AI-powered ad and contextual advertising were buzzwords in this year's TV upfront presentations, and the World Cup shows why. For overall World Cup viewership, Samba noted that blue-leaning states and designated market areas over-index when compared to red-leaning states. However, the red states showed up around matches where there was a patriotic angle or U.S. tie-in. For instance, blue-leaning DMAs are nearly equally as likely to watch Team USA and non-Team USA games; however, red-leaning DMAs were 23 percentage points more likely to watch Team USA matches vs. non-USA matches. Then, Donald Trump's involvement with FIFA to reverse a red card issued in the USA vs. Bosnia match also increased engagement from red-leaning DMAs. The game immediately following Trump’s involvement had nearly a 20% increase in red-leaning DMAs despite it being a non-USA match. Plus, in the final game, where Trump handed out the trophy, red-leaning DMAs were +22% above their baseline in viewership, while blue-leaning DMAs were relatively flat. The takeaway has nothing to do with political persuasions. Instead, like Erling Haaland coming off of a plane with a whiskey-drinking raccoon, audiences aren't always predictable and are rarely stagnant. And the brands that can stay flexible around contextual moments can take advantage of those fluctuations. In the short term: ¿No hablas español? No problem In February, Telemundo brought a surprise Spanish lesson to the Super Bowl. In an ad airing during NBCUniversal's broadcast of the Big Game, Telemundo utilized Sofia Vergara and Owen Wilson to show the power of watching the World Cup in Spanish. And that lesson seemed to pay off. According to Samba, more than half of U.S. World Cup-viewing households watched at least a portion of a match in Spanish. The company noted that 95% of households that watched Spanish also watched matches in English, and only 30% of Spanish-language-viewing households were Hispanic households. For years, Telemundo and TelevisaUnivision have preached about how Spanish-language and culture go beyond Hispanic audiences, and the World Cup was proof of concept, showing language doesn't have to be a barrier to entry. Notably, Spanish-language content also isn't commanding the premium spend of English-language inventory, even in its richest deals. For instance, Fox's largest World Cup sponsorship deals were in the $50 million range. Meanwhile, Telemundo’s highest sponsorship deals were in the $20 million to $30 million range, according to a sell-side source familiar with the company’s negotiations. Over the long term: Viewership experience is the goal Fox made bonkers money off of FIFA's World Cup hydration breaks, which were ad breaks occurring halfway through the first and second halves of matches. Reports noted that the company could make up to $600 million off of the deal. But at what cost? According to Samba, Telemundo, which didn't minimize the screen for ads during the hydration breaks, had a "meaningfully lighter ad load" than the English-language broadcast. The company said that Telemundo had 22% less ad time per viewing hour and 24% fewer ads per hour, potentially leading to more viewership and a less intrusive viewing experience. Though companies are continually bringing brands closer to the content, viewership experience matters in the long run, especially with how favorably consumers perceive a brand. For instance, though the Powerade-sponsored hydration breaks came right in the middle of the World Cup halves, maximizing their chance for viewership, they regularly drew the ire of fans and news headlines—despite what the company says about how positive the breaks were. Telemundo may not have taken millions from the hydration breaks; however, the company still found value by prioritizing fans, playing the long game to score more viewers in the future. CTV is crowded—want to learn how brand fundamentals cut through the noise? Enroll in The ADWEEK MiniMBA in Marketing and build a strategy designed to last. Sign up here.

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ADWEEK TV Advantage: World Cup Reveals 3 Marketing Lessons to Add a Real Kick

Samba helps ADWEEK dig into the data behind the trends of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

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