This Future of Marketing Briefing covers the latest in marketing for Digiday+ members and is distributed over email every Friday at 10 a.m. ET. More from the series →Some 128 million viewers tuned into Fox’s FIFA World Cup coverage this summer, a coup that boosted the broadcaster’s revenue 28% to $4.2 billion in its latest quarterly earnings. And yet, the tournament’s draw hasn’t prompted a headlong rush to funnel ad spend toward streaming and broadcast coverage of club soccer. “It’s been steady for a couple of years; I don’t think there’s a huge uptick in soccer spending,” said Jim McNamara, svp of national video investment at media agency Canvas.
So far, English Premier League ad inventory continues to sell well, but demand is steady, rather than intense. “We have not seen or experienced any increased demand or inquiries,” said one holding company media buyer, who exchanged anonymity for candor.
Though the U.S.’ Major League Soccer (MLS) boasts Lionel Messi, many of the soccer stars that lit up the World Cup stage ply their regular trade in the English league. That should add momentum to its rising popularity in the U.S. NBC’s coverage of the 2025-26 season was the most-watched season in the U.S. to date, with each match gaining 535,000 viewers on average and April’s Arsenal-Manchester City matchup garnering 2.6 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
