Fox Sports
- Fox Sports paid $200 million to broadcast this summer's World Cup in the United States, but the U.S. failed to qualify for the tournament.
- So, the network has teamed with genome testing company 23andMe to encourage fans to research their ancestry to find a rooting interest in the World Cup.
- The network has research indicating this could be a sound business strategy.
The World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the United States, a time when a nation that pays, relatively speaking, little attention to soccer, collectively gathers to cheer on the good ol' stars and stripes.
So, naturally, Fox Sports shelled out a whopping $200 million for the rights to broadcast the World Cup - a decision which now looks like a disaster from a financial standpoint given that the U.S. has missed qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in over 30 years.
As an alternative, Fox Sports has teamed up with the genome testing company 23andMe to pitch fans on watching the World Cup.
"We're all connected to a World Cup nation through our DNA," proclaims a commercial that began airing recently. "So this summer, root for your roots. Watch the FIFA World Cup on Fox, and let Fox broadcast sponsor 23andMe help you find your team."
According to a report from Anthony Crupi of AdAge, this marketing strategy could turn out to be a solid fallback option for the network.
"According to Robert Gottlieb, executive vP of marketing, Fox Sports, the broadcaster's in-house research discovered that 58 percent of fans who could not pinpoint their ancestral origins said they would watch more of the World Cup tourney if they did know from whence they came," Crupi wrote.
Crupi also reported that the network had been developing this strategy as a contingency plan since before the U.S. had been eliminated from the World Cup.
You can watch the commercial below.