Fox Getting Up to $475K for World Cup Final Ads

When Croatia plays France for the World Cup on Sunday in Russia, Fox won’t be raking in the rubles.

Research company SQAD says advertisers have paid between $399,451 and $475,963 for 30-second spots during the broadcast of the championship's deciding contest.

Croatia beat England 2-1 in extra time Wednesday. France topped Belgium 1-0 Tuesday.

Related: Which Teams and Brands Are Driving World Cup Attention?

Four years ago, when the 2014 World Cup Final aired on ABC, spots cost between $448,512 and $534,206, about 12% more than Fox is getting.

Either way, it's not much compared to the Super Bowl, where spots sell for more than $5 million each, but is still a notable amount for soccer, a sport with limited but growing popularity in the U.S.

Four years ago, the World Cup generated a total of $523 million between ABC/ESPN, which held the English language rights, and Univision, which aired coverage in Spanish, according to estimates from Kantar Media. Telemundo has the Spanish language rights this year.

ABC/ESPN took in $187 million and Univision drew $336 million according to Kantar.

Related: Fox, Telemundo near World Cup Advertising Sales Goals

Fox’s hopes for a big haul from its first World Cup broadcast were dampened when the U.S. failed to qualify for the tournament.

Just before the tournament kicked off, both Fox and Telemundo said they were near their ad sales goals.

In addition to losing at least two high rated games featuring the U.S. team, Fox and Telemundo were at a disadvantage because the tournament was being played in Russia with most live viewing taking place in mid-day rather than in primetime.

The 2014 World Cup was won by Germany in Brazil. 

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.