Telemundo’s 2022 FIFA World Cup Ad Sales Hit 'Record Revenue' Ahead of Kickoff

If brands want to advertise in Telemundo's U.S. Spanish-language broadcast of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they’re pretty much out of time. NBCUniversal and Telemundo have just a “handful of units” remaining with under two weeks to go until the soccer competition kicks off Nov. 20 in Qatar, according to Mark Marshall, president of advertising sales and client partnerships at NBCUniversal. “We’ve not only surpassed our record revenue, we’ve also exceeded all of our 2022 revenue goals,” Marshall told reporters during a press conference Monday afternoon. The company is pacing “well ahead” from the last World Cup in 2018 from both a national and local ad sales perspective. More than 20 new advertisers have signed on for this year’s World Cup on both Telemundo and Peacock. How Brands Are Marketing Around the 2022 FIFA World Cup In August, NBCUniversal and Telemundo had already sold approximately 90% of its advertising inventory for the tournament. Last November, a full year before kick-off, NBCUniversal and Telemundo sold out the competition’s major sponsorship spots, which include the presenting sponsorships for the pregame, halftime and postgame shows. The company sold its pregame sponsorship to Ford, the halftime to T-Mobile and the postgame to Coca-Cola. Three other major brand partners have now signed on for Telemundo’s coverage of the World Cup: Volkswagen, Samsung and Xfinity. Volkswagen created custom content spots with the creative team at NBCUniversal, and those will air during Team USA matches on Telemundo platforms. Samsung will have “high visible” placements around World Cup matches, as well as custom commercial launch animations. Xfinity, also owned by parent company Comcast, will have an exclusive branded virtual studio that will present fan-centric segments twice a day that include behind-the-scenes action and watch parties. Marshall also said that with sales this strong, the company is already in conversations for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. NBCUniversal and Telemundo have the exclusive Spanish-language broadcast of the soccer competition, kicking off on Nov. 20 in Qatar. English-language rights belong to Fox Sports. A digital-first experience NBCUniversal and Peacock are set to air all 64 World Cup matches live, with in-venue coverage. The first four days of matches will be available unauthenticated on the Telemundo Deportes app. Beginning on Thanksgiving Day, fans will need to enter their cable credentials. NBCUniversal will have four games of the World Cup on Thanksgiving Day, airing on linear and Peacock. Those four games will lead directly into a Sunday Night Football matchup between the Patriots and the Vikings. “The ultimate in fútbol meets football,” Ray Warren, president of Telemundo Deportes said. “We hope to bring both of those audiences and both of those broadcasts together in some way in pre- and post-game television.” All games at the World Cup will also be on Peacock (with many only available on the streaming service’s premium tier). Peacock will also launch a free dedicated 24/7 channel that will include content like commentary, debates, replays and further coverage.