Promoting the Biggest Cultural Event to Come to the U.S. | FOX Sports & the 2026 World Cup

Challenge:

FOX Sports was the exclusive broadcaster of the 2026 Men’s World Cup, airing all 104 games. For this momentous moment, the brand had high aspirations for game viewership and equally high aspirations to be embedded in the massive cultural conversation for its world-class production and creativity throughout the tournament.

Approach:

Always-on media strategy that was sustained leading into and throughout the World Cup showcased FOX executives and broadcast team of soccer superstars and the game’s most well-respected commentators, viewership milestones, regional viewership highlights and community impact efforts, and memorable game moments
Leveraged FOX marketing activations such as influencer and brand partnerships (like Sesame Street) and guerilla marketing tactics in storytelling strategy to extend reach
Teamed up with FOX Sports Digital to amplify key initiatives like the launch of WORLD CUP NOW and the return of Jameis Winston as a correspondent
We leveraged the bench of FOX Sports talent and executives as voices of the tournament, showing up across pop culture and sports business on the biggest podcasts and digital channels in the country
Managed large-scale media touchpoints including a media day in NYC that featured 80+ media attendees and earned stories spanning the Associated Press, New York Times, Front Office Sports, Complex and mor

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Impact

Went viral. Announcing FOX Sports’ hiring of a Chief World Cup Watcher to watch every World Cup game was covered across the media ecosystem—in Variety, CBS Mornings, Fast Company, yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated and more
Flexed thought leadership. FOX executives featured in top-tier cover stories (SBJ, Variety) and big-bet stories highlighting their marketing strategies for the World Cup
Drove TV viewership records. The USA / Belgium game saw 33 million viewers, the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history. The final saw 60M+ viewers, more than any event other than the Super Bowl
Changed the narrative. Turned typical negative sentiment to overwhelming positivity from coverage praising FOX Sports tech, innovation, talent team and broadcast of the tournament.