For Hollywood's international distributors and
exhibition partners, World Cup '98 "means box office
disaster as fans stay home to watch the games" on TV,
according to Christopher Pickard of VARIETY. This is
"forcing the entertainment community to come up with
contingency plans" for the key weekends of June 12-14, 19-21
and 26-28, and July 3-5 and 10-12. In some markets,
distributors and exhibitors will try counterprogramming, or
cut ticket prices to lure the few not watching soccer; "in
other parts of the world, the business is expected simply to
go into hibernation until the championship is awarded." In
addition, women's interest in soccer is a "complicating
factor when it comes to planning any form of
counterprogramming." Overall, 41 billion viewers are
expected to watch the World Cup games (VARIETY, 12/21).
AT HOME: Despite hosting the '94 Cup, "the U.S. seems
to remain blissfully unaware of the full impact of the Cup
outside its borders." Pickard notes that some countries
declare national holidays when their teams play. But Pickard
adds, "Chances are the U.S. media still underestimate the
interest in the games within America, especially given the
large immigrant population" (VARIETY, 12/21 issue).
