The World Cup is the World’s Largest Temporary Ad Network
The World Cup is not just the world’s biggest sporting event; it may also be the largest temporary advertising network globally
48 teams, 104 matches, 16 host cities, three countries.
However, only a small fraction of fans will experience the FIFA World Cup from inside a stadium. In fact, the largest “stadium” at the 2026 FIFA World Cup may not be a traditional stadium at all. The vast majority of fans will watch from various locations:
Living rooms, sports bars, public squares, fan festivals, mobile devices.
What’s fascinating about the 2026 World Cup is not the number of seats within the venues, but rather the number of screens outside of them. Host cities are organizing official FIFA Fan Festivals and public viewing experiences designed to unite fans around large screens, featuring live entertainment, food, music, and cultural activities. For every fan inside a stadium, thousands more will be watching from elsewhere.
In the United States, most of that audience will access the event through a single media ecosystem. FOX will broadcast all 104 matches across FOX and FS1, and every match will also be available to stream on platforms like FOX One. Tubi is being positioned as a key fan engagement platform through its new FIFA World Cup FOX Hub, which offers live events, highlights, original content, and free access for millions of viewers.
What if the largest “stadium” at the World Cup isn’t actually a stadium at all? What if it consists of a distributed network of televisions, connected TVs, sports bars, restaurants, fan zones, airports, hotels, casinos, and mobile devices connected by broadcast and streaming infrastructure?
For advertisers, this is where the economics become extraordinary. The World Cup transcends a mere sporting event; it has evolved into one of the largest attention marketplaces on the planet. Every screen serves as inventory, every venue becomes a media destination, and every gathering place becomes an opportunity to connect brands with highly engaged audiences in real time.
For FOX, the tournament represents one of the largest advertising opportunities in sports. For Tubi, it signifies a crucial chance to introduce millions of viewers to a free, ad-supported streaming experience at the peak of global attention.
The future of sports media is not just about broadcasting the matches; it’s about monetizing the moments before, during, and after the games across every screen where fans gather. While the match may take place in one stadium, the audience is everywhere, and the advertising opportunity is even greater.