The most lucrative sports event ever
Amid all the narratives surrounding this year’s FIFA World Cup, one thing was never in doubt: the scale of audience interest. While many questioned stadium attendance, millions of fans across the UK were expected to tune in from their sofas and local pubs.
The level of expected attention made the tournament a major commercial opportunity. ITV anticipated it would become “the most lucrative sports event ITV has ever aired”, with advertising revenues around 30% higher than those generated during Euro 2024. Advertisers remained undeterred despite late kick-off times, while ITV chose not to maximise revenue further by running ads during ‘hydration breaks’.
ITV and Google team up again
A major sporting event like the World Cup is about more than what happens on the pitch – it’s also about the personalities and brands that become part of the viewing experience.
Ahead of the tournament, ITV’s pundit line-up was a key talking point, with many feeling it had an edge over the BBC. Bringing together familiar faces from The Overlap alongside popular additions including Ange Postecoglou, Duncan Ferguson and tactical analysis from Emma Hayes, ITV’s coverage offered viewers a mix of recognisable personalities and expert analysis.
Another familiar sight for ITV viewers was Google’s sponsorship of the coverage, with ads featuring Gemini and Pixel appearing around the breaks. The tech giant was the coverage sponsor for its second major football tournament in a row, following the Women’s Euros last summer.
From attention to affinity
Google has been a prominent presence throughout ITV’s tournament coverage, but is that visibility translating into stronger brand metrics? To explore this, we looked at BrandVue data across two key measures: Brand Love, our measure of the emotional affinity people have with a brand, and Brand Buzz, our measure of how much people are talking about a brand.
Early data suggests a positive shift for Google during the tournament period. Brand Buzz increased from 29.6% in May to 34.2% by the end of the group stage, while Brand Love rose from 33.9% to 37.6%.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this pattern. During last year’s Women’s Euros, Google’s Brand Love increased from 28.4% in May 2025 to 31.5% in August following England’s victory.
Viewers are feeling the love
Google isn’t the only brand to see an uplift around major sporting moments. Similar trends can be seen across other sponsors of ITV’s tournament coverage in recent years: Cupra, sponsor of ITV’s Men’s Euro 2024 coverage, saw Brand Love increase from 4.5% in May to 9.5% in August.
The pattern extends beyond football. Land Rover Defender, sponsor of the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2023, saw Brand Love rise from 11.4% in September to 15.6% in November following the final in Paris.
When attention isn’t enough
However, major sporting moments do not always guarantee an uplift in brand affinity. The 2022 Men’s World Cup provides a useful counterpoint. During the tournament, KFC launched a campaign to promote its delivery service, portraying fans hurrying home for kick-off while struggling to hold on to their bargain buckets, helping to keep the brand visible throughout the competition.
Despite the campaign, KFC saw little change in Brand Love, moving from 21.2% in October 2022 to 19.9% in January. While this may partly reflect a wider category effect – with Brand Love across the fast-food sector typically declining in January as consumers move away from festive indulgence and towards healthier choices – the results suggest that although major sporting events can create valuable opportunities for brands to build emotional connections, attention alone does not always translate into stronger brand affinity.
What does this mean for brands?
Major sporting events can provide a powerful platform to connect with audiences, but sponsorship alone is rarely enough. Brands that align naturally with the viewing experience and create relevant, engaging experiences are more likely to turn attention into lasting emotional connections.
Whether you’re planning a sponsorship or evaluating the impact of a campaign, BrandVue provides ongoing audience insight to support more informed decisions.
To explore what this could look like for your brand, get in touch with the team.