World Cup Broadcasts Featured Health-Hazard Advertisements Every Seven Seconds

Advertising for unhealthy food, alcohol, and gambling appeared every seven seconds during live coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a new study. These advertisements constituted almost a quarter of the tournament’s total live broadcast duration.

What Happened

During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, over 93,000 advertisements for products potentially detrimental to human health were broadcast, impacting approximately six billion people who engaged with the tournament across various platforms, as reported by Euronews. This advertising was visible for 39.3 hours of live play, representing nearly a quarter of the tournament’s total live broadcast time, according to the study.

Researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford analyzed 172.6 hours of live play across the tournament’s 104 matches, utilizing the UK’s Isambard-AI supercomputer. The analysis specifically counted advertisements embedded within the live match coverage, such as those on billboards, which viewers could not avoid, according to Euronews. Raffaello Rossi, a co-author of the study from the University of Bristol, stated that this level of exposure is particularly concerning due to the established links between marketing for unhealthy products, alcohol, and gambling, and increased consumption, leading to health, social, and financial harms, especially for children and young people.

Key Details

• Viewers were exposed to nine logos for brands associated with health or financial harm per minute of live play on average, according to the study.
• Unhealthy food and drink brands accounted for over 70% of appearances, totaling 65,722 instances, with a combined visibility of 28.1 hours, or 16.3% of all live play, as reported by Euronews.
• Prediction markets represented the second-largest category with 9,360 logos and 8.8 hours of screen time, followed by alcohol with 9,266 logos and 8.2 hours, and gambling with 6,429 logos and 4.2 hours, according to the research.

Why It Matters

The prevalence of these advertisements during one of the world’s most-watched sporting events suggests a significant platform for promoting products linked to preventable illnesses and harm, according to the researchers. Elisa Becker, a co-author of the study at Oxford, highlighted the global crisis of childhood obesity and diet-related diseases, noting that the world’s biggest sporting event is saturated with marketing for unhealthy food and drinks. The study authors also pointed out that alcohol consumption is a leading cause of noncommunicable diseases, and gambling can result in various harms, including financial, physical, emotional, or social consequences.