Why cut-through, not scale, will be the real trick to this year's World Cup - with The Guardian's James Fleetham and Marcus Christenson

This episode was produced in partnership with The Guardian.

The World Cup is poised to be the biggest media event of the year in 2026, and media owners have been betting that it will help lift their pocketbooks and grow audiences.

Live sport has become one of the last, best ways for advertisers to reach mass, live audiences centred around a major cultural event, be it on TV, online, on social or in the news.

The Media Leader has spoken with a number of media outlets that view the World Cup as key to their success this year. For The Guardian, the event is not only a major commercial and editorial opportunity, but it is an aptly timed one amid a significant push for US growth.

James Fleetham is the director of advertising at The Guardian and Marcus Christenson The Guardian’s football special projects editor.

For this special partner episode, the pair unpacked the major threads of this year’s World Cup, both as a commercial opportunity and an editorial one.

Highlights:

4:35: What makes the World Cup a unique editorial and commercial opportunity.

9:07: The big stories of this year's World Cup and what makes The Guardian unique from its competitors in sport coverage.

16:37: Expanding US coverage and leaning into multimedia opportunities amid changing engagement habits.

22:35: Will US foreign policy impact this year's World Cup coverage and brand interest?

27:03: How The Guardian sells global cultural events: "Be early, be easy, be different."

31:06: Approaching new football audiences and continuing interest after the event is over.

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