By Nora Macaluso E-Commerce Times
09/12/01 8:40 AM PT
The Web site for the last World Cup, France98.com,
registered 1.1 billion page views during the event.
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Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) will host the Web site for the
next two World Cup soccer tournaments under an agreement announced Tuesday with the
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Yahoo! said it has exclusive rights to produce, market and host the FIFAworldcup.com site,
and will sell site sponsorships, along with FIFA. The deal covers the 2002 World Cup in
Korea and Japan, and the 2006 event in Germany.
"Marketing and sponsorship packages available on FIFAworldcup.com also allow Yahoo! to
demonstrate its ability to deliver on advertisers' goals by reaching their targeted
audiences with creative, relevant and compelling solutions," Yahoo! president and chief
operating officer Jeff Mallett said.
Yahoo! has been trying to boost revenue and expand its offerings to offset money lost
from a widespread downturn in the Internet advertising market. The company has said
partnerships and joint ventures would become a big part of its business.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Big Event
The World Cup is arguably the biggest sports event in the world. The 64 matches of the
1998 World Cup, held in France, were watched by more than 33 billion viewers, with the
final match -- between France and Brazil -- drawing 1 billion people. By contrast, the
National Football League's Super Bowl generally gets about 140 million viewers each year,
Yahoo! said.
The Web site for the last World Cup, France98.com, registered 1.1 billion page views
during the event.
"Combining the worldwide popularity of both the FIFA World Cup and the Internet, along
with Yahoo's 200 million unique monthly visitors, the aim will be to exceed this mark and
create a new precedent for event traffic," Yahoo! said.
Yahoo! said the Internet will be "an essential service" for soccer fans during the World
Cup match, because it will provide up-to-date information and background around the
clock, regardless of time zone. The site will be available in English, Spanish, Japanese,
Korean, French and German.
Billboards, Kiosks Planned
The site will provide, among other things, an online "club" offering special content,
deals and promotions, live broadcast streaming of events, archived video
highlights, real-time statistics, an online store, and wireless Internet updates.
Yahoo! will also have on-field billboards in each of the 20 stadiums holding the World
Cup matches, and the 2002 games will feature kiosks with online access to
FIFAworldcup.com and Yahoo!
Yahoo! said the agreement also gives it marketing rights to the 2003 Women's World Cup in
China and additional FIFA soccer championships.
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Headline Feeds
covers the 2002 World Cup in
Korea and Japan, and the 2006 event in Germany.
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