ZenithOptimedia said that a football World Cup taking place during winter could add £12M ($19M) to U.K. broadcasters' revenues, according to Gurjit Degun of MEDIA WEEK. ZenithOptimedia said that people were "much more likely" to stay in to watch TV when "it was cold and dark outside." Viewing figures are approximately between 15-20% higher over November and December compared with June and July.
ZenithOptimedia Head of Forecasting Jonathan Barnard: "Casual viewers, who would not normally make a special effort to watch a game, are more likely to be at home and available to view, while fans are less likely to go out to watch in a pub, where their viewing will go unmeasured. So the supply of viewers will be higher."
The agency believes that if the World Cup were to take place in winter, it would generate an extra £50M ($78M) in U.K. TV ad spend, compared with £38M ($59M) for a summer competition (MEDIA WEEK, 2/25).
COLLISION COURSE: DWDL's Alexander Krei reported FIFA's proposed plan to switch the 2022 Qatar World Cup from summer to winter "will be a challenge for German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF in terms of their winter sports coverage." ARD Sports Dir Axel Balkausky: "Should FIFA actually decide to move the World Cup to winter, we will, in a timely fashion, address and evaluate how we can connect our winter sports coverage, which will occur during that time, and the coverage of the World Cup through program planning." However, Balkausky added that "a lot can change" over the next seven years (DWDL, 2/25).
