There is only one thing not terrible about the Club World Cup

Telegraph

8 hours ago

The Club World Cup has been a terrible tournament in all metrics bar one, and sadly it is probably the one that matters most: the viewing figures have been very good.
This was the weekend that the CWC went from irrelevant summer kickabout to elaborate performance-art project. The dangerously high temperatures, embarrassing mismatches, half-empty stadiums and rubbish infrastructure have been well documented, but the 115-minute delay to Chelsea's game because of a nearby thunderstorm took it to another level of silliness. DAZN's Lianne Sanderson, Ade Oladipo and John Obi Mikel filled in for so long that even a stint on Test Match Special would hold no fear for them now.
Was the rain worse than some of the football in the CWC, though? Arguable. Sports fans have traditionally wanted to see high-quality contests between well-matched opponents who represent sporting institutions that mean something, but a new breed of supporter is very excited to see the likes of Messi or Ronaldo playing for whoever against whatever, and it is surely this generation that ensured Channel 5 boasted 1.6 million viewers for Chelsea's match against something called LAFC the other day.
DAZN had spent $1 billion to buy the global rights from Fifa, which seems an astonishing amount of money for the ropiest of old rope until you factor in that Saudi Arabia has bought a stake in DAZN for an (entirely coincidentally) very similar sum. In the UK, DAZN has sublicensed the rights to dear old Channel 5, thus putting the station normally most associated with Peppa Pig, Jeremy Vine and Living With My Fifty Stone Legs at the cutting edge of the most exciting sportswashing project in the world today. Hooray!
Of that 1.6 million mentioned above, 34 per cent of the audience was in the coveted 16-34 demographic and it is not surprising that the channel's parent company Paramount Global hailed this as a 'standout moment for 5, driving big numbers, including new and hard-to-reach younger audiences to the channel'.
You cannot argue against that, and I for one welcome our new PlayStation-owning, ADHD-having overlords, particularly if they wouldn't mind putting some headphones in on the train. The older viewer might lament the lack of discernment from the younger generation but there it is: a consumer who will watch any old tut if there is a famous face in it is all right by Fifa and these are the sort of successes that shape the entertainment landscape. Just look at Jake Paul's partnership with DAZN for his joke fights: a revenue monster and one that everyone wants to replicate.
As for the TV coverage, DAZN is a little brash and irritating for some tastes but getting in on the act represents encouraging progress for Channel 5 and, crucially, having their own hosting takes the edge off the DAZN yoofiness. Channel 5 has tried football many times with varying degrees of success: who will ever forget Brough Scott hosting England v Poland from a sports bar back in 1997 alongside Sir Les Ferdinand and soap stars from the channel's other offerings? Certainly not poor Brough or Les.
Later forays into club football have done respectably enough but the CWC has been a welcome surprise hit for Channel 5. The legend that is James Richardson has been presenting, and there have been analysis roles for lesser-spotted names like Paul Robinson, Don Hutchison and Obi Mikel.
There is a tactics angle from James Allcott called 'The Press', and on yesterday's Paris St-Germain v Inter Miami match, he gamely explained how Miami had attempted to use a low block, or whatever it was they were trying to do. It does require some suspension of disbelief given that the match was a seniors testimonial team playing the European champions and, frankly, Miami could have had 15 players, but overall the coverage has been more than decent.
It is regrettable that they have to keep plugging DAZN's app and 'premium' service every five minutes but we might have to get used to it, because DAZN, the Club World Cup and Fifa's Saudi relationship are looking like the shape of things to come. Ronaldo recently declared 'I belong to Saudi Arabia', and the preposterous Portuguese is not alone.