Hollywood braces for World Cup TV

COLOGNE, Germany - The Hollywood studios have already steeled themselves for the quadrennial box office slump that the rest of the world calls the football World Cup.

The international releases of most major studio releases have been front-loaded into the weeks before the World Cup opens June 9 or are being held back until after the July 9 final.

It's easy to see why. TV ratings for World Cup matches are expected to best the record highs of 2002, in part because the 2006 championships will be held in Europe, where the World Cup is closer to a religion than a sporting event.

In Germany - this year's host and ground zero for World Cup madness - that means upwards of 18 million-20 million viewers, or a quarter of the entire German population, will be sitting on their couches screaming at the TV. This doesn't take into account the millions more watching in bars, restaurants or on live streaming over the internet or mobile devices.

There will be more football on German TV in that monthlong period than ever before. Public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, which split the rights to the bulk of the World Cup matches, plan to air at least 80 hours of live coverage with 48 of the 64 matches. That's not including the pre- and post game analysis and interviews with coaches and players that add two hours to the broadcast of any 90-minute game.

RTL, which this year will become the first-ever commercial free-to-air broadcaster to carry World Cup matches in Germany, is following suit. RTL has rights for up to eight World Cup matches all taking place on Sunday: June 11, 18 and 25. The channel is planning wall-to-wall coverage on all three days - kicking off with a pregame show at 11am and signing off at 11pm with a look back at the day's matches.

But Germany's football fans don't have to wait until the official kickoff. Across the TV dial, "football" has already taken over. From game shows to comedy, from miniseries to documentaries, the World Cup is all anyone is talking about.

Here's just a sample of the football-themed programming that is filling German screens: 

* "The Art of Football," a three-part comedy documentary featuring John Cleese explaining the sillier side of the sport, airing on ZDF.

* "Wir Weltmeister" (We the World Cup Champions), an ARD docudrama detailing the history of modern Germany through the fate of its football squad.

* "The Best Football Hits of All Time," a countdown show featuring chart-topping football themes from years past.

* "The Third Goal," ZDF's high-tech look at the disputed third goal against Germany that won England its only World Cup in 1966.

* "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? World Cup Edition," a celebrity version of RTL's game show featuring well-known Teutons answering trivia questions about the national squad and World Cup history.

Football fever has even infected channels with no World Cup rights. Berlin-based Sat.1 is programming a slate of films with football themes, such as "Bend It Like Beckham" and German-language hit "The Miracle of Bern," about the country's first World Cup victory in 1954.

On the other hand, Sat.1 sister channel Pro7 is launching a "World Cup for the Girls" schedule boasting romantic features and reruns of "Sex and the City."

"We hope women will also exercise some control over the remote during the championships," a Pro7 spokeswoman says.

German late-night comedian Harold Schmidt thought up an even better way to bring couples together during the divisive World Cup season. Tackling the twin problems of sold-out World Cup matches and Germany's dangerously low birth rate, Schmidt offered free World Cup tickets to couples who give birth before June 9. The contest set off a mini baby boom among Schmidt's viewers, and last month Schmidt handed out 216 tickets to grateful new moms.

"It was the only way I could get my husband to agree (to having a baby)," commented winning mom Frau Lehmann-Stein, proving that it is true what fans here say: The World Cup is a matter of life and death.

- REUTERS/Hollywood Reporter