It’s going to be a sleepless Sunday night, not just for football fans as they catch the final of the FIFA World Cup 12.30 am onward, but for numerous gig and hospitality workers who are ready for one of the busiest nights of the year with sold-out screenings, extended hours and special offers.
The Karnataka government has already allowed extension of food service hours at hotels and restaurants in Bengaluru urban district until 3.30 am on the night of July 19, instead of the usual 1 am deadline. For bars and restaurants across the country, it is an opportunity they don’t want to miss.
Commercial Outlets Capitalise
India’s largest quick service chain Domino’s Pizza is ready to accept orders till 3 am on final night, while McDonald’s has extended operations until 3 am to capitalise on football fever. The Beer Cafe is ready to let the tap flow with a nationwide late-night promotion, offering beer at Rs 189 from 11.30 pm onwards. Its Bengaluru outlet will continue serving until the end of the match, while outlets in other cities will operate as per local licensing norms.
“We are adding to the football fervour by letting guests cheer for their favourite team and enjoy a memorable football night without worrying about the bill,” said Rahul Singh, founder & CEO, The Beer Cafe.
Sports bar chain Underdoggs Sports Bar & Grill expects record business, combining the final with the launch of its largest outlet, Underdoggs Arena in Gurugram. “We are gearing up for one of the biggest football nights with live screenings across six outlets (two in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Ludhiana, Delhi Aerocity and Noida),” said Sarthak Sidana, director, Underdoggs Sports Bar & Grill. He shared that on semi-final day, their sales across all outlets reached Rs 35-45 lakh and they are expecting the final night to deliver the strongest single-night revenue performance to date.
In Gurugram, Abhinav Jindal, founder & CEO of BeeYoung beer & pub BeeYoung Brewgarden said they are already sold out. “The response to FIFA screenings this season has been phenomenal.”
Quoin, the 24×7 sports bar at Novotel New Delhi Aerocity, will host an all-night screening with large screens, cocktails, bar bites and beer bucket offers. Baardos Qutub in Delhi will also host a special overnight screening, expecting revenues of Rs 10-12 lakh from a single night.
Food delivery platform Swiggy said the FIFA World Cup has sparked a rise in late-night food ordering since the tournament began. The 11 pm-3 am slot has seen the maximum orders, with pizzas and burgers the most in demand. Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai led demand among metros, while Surat, Thiruvananthapuram and Patna topped the charts among emerging markets. In Chandigarh, a customer spent a record Rs 16,444 on finger foods alone in one single order, Swiggy shared.
Managing the Hangover
With an energetic Sunday night, Monday morning blues will just get deeper. Some corporates like Bengaluru-based proptech unicorn NoBroker.com have decided to give flexibility to staff to either start the day late or take a day off. “This is applicable for non-customer facing staff, which is 20% of total strength,” said founder & CEO Amit Kumar Agarwal. NoBroker.com employs around 3,000 people across Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR.
The sole Indian streaming partner, Zee5, has already monetised FIFA rights well by hiking its subscription from Rs 299 per month to Rs 399 for world cup access. The platform has enjoyed all-time high network share of 20% (for those over 15 years in urban India) in week 24 (June 8-14) this year, with a unique reach of over 300 million across its linear platforms, Zee 5 and social platforms since June 1.