The most watched television event in the U.S. is the Super Bowl, with an estimated 95 million viewers, which is why advertisers clamor to pay exorbitant fees for a 30-second spot on the broadcast.
But what would it be worth to them if they could get an audience of five billion? That's the estimated size of the audience for the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament, which begins next month in
host country Germany. The tournament includes 64 matches played over the course of a month, and will attract a cumulative live television audience of more than five billion, according to Kevin Alavy,
an analyst in London for Initiative, a firm that buys media space and time on behalf of advertisers. The final match alone is expected to attract as many as 300 million viewers, depending on which
teams participate. Anticipating huge ratings, advertisers are eager for the games to get underway. Adidas, the German sporting goods company, started its World Cup-linked marketing campaign more than
eight months ago, after two years of preparations, rivaling U.S. elections as an endurance test. "It feels like we've been through a World Cup ourselves," said Andy Fackrell, creative director at the
ad agency 180 in Amsterdam, which developed the Adidas campaign. TV ratings are expected to be highest in soccer- mad Brazil and Argentina, where 30 percent to 40 percent of televisions will typically
be tuned in to each match, Alavy said. When Brazil plays, the ratings in that country will soar to well over 90 percent, he said
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