How much does Fox make off FIFA World Cup hydration breaks, per reports?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is bringing intense summer heat to the pitch across matches in the United States, Mexico and Canada. This has resulted in FIFA implementing its new 2026 World Cup official hydration break protocols, which feature two stoppages, one in each half, and Fox is quietly cashing in on every single drop of sweat.

While players use the mandated pauses to cool down and receive tactical adjustments from their managers, the exclusive U.S. English-language broadcasting company is utilizing the stoppages to squeeze in highly lucrative, premium-rate television commercials. Not surprisingly, this approach has been met with significant pushback from soccer fans, especially as the restart of games has been paused at times while officials wait for games to resume after commercials.

However, one of the biggest plot twists in all of this is that Telemundo appears to have decided not to force fans to leave the action and watch commercials. This decision by Fox has been highly scrutinized, leading to questions about how much revenue the company is generating from the advertising spots.

This is where the debate regarding the highly unpopular plan to show ads during hydration breaks hits a metaphorical wall for fans. No one wants to see this happen, but according to a Wall Street Journal report, the income Fox has generated from these breaks doesn’t signal they’re likely to change any time soon. The report cites that Fox was selling 30-second ad spots for roughly $200,000 for early-round games and $750,000 for games involving the United States Men’s National Team.

As Awful Announcing laid out, this means that Fox can sell 832 potential in-game commercials (four per break and eight per game) over 104 World Cup matches. It’s unknown how much a 30-second spot could cost in the rounds following the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, but an expected jump in price could mean that Fox could push toward recouping the $485 million it reportedly paid for broadcast rights to the World Cup, per Awful Announcing.