World Cup fever defeats pub chain's football ban

Pub-goers seeking to avoid blanket coverage of the World Cup this summer have lost an ally on the high street. For the first time, the JD Wetherspoon pub chain is to screen most of this summer's World Cup matches, although the sound will be turned down except for England games.

Famed for its puritanical approach to televisions, music and pool tables, all of which were once banned from its pubs, the company finally relented at the end of last summer and installed new plasma screens - two in every pub - in its 650 outlets.

The move was prompted by the new licensing laws which allow pubs to stay open longer, and was supposedly aimed at creating a "nicer atmosphere" in Wetherspoon pubs, allowing the television news to be watched during the morning.

However, the huge interest (and potential custom) that the World Cup brings to Britain's pubs has prompted a further re-think. The company's chief executive, John Hutson, said: "We're adopting a fairly low-key approach. The majority of our pubs will end up showing a lot of the games, but without the sound. I accept that when England are playing it will be difficult."

Local managers will be allowed to turn the sound up for those matches. Mr Hutson stressed the company was "playing it by ear" and pub managers would have some leeway in deciding which games to show.

Whether a "low-key" approach to the most-watched sporting tournament on earth will boost trade remains to be seen.

Mr Hutson said "I don't think it will be as bad as last time the World Cup was in Europe - France in 1998 was poor for us - but we're not going out of our way to gain a World Cup audience. We've always had a negative impact from the World Cup and European Championships."

Other pub chains are preparing for a drinking bonanza. The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) estimates that the three England matches at the group stage alone will generate about £100m in additional turnover for the industry.

About 21 million people will be watching the matches in pubs, downing an extra 30 million pints of beer. If England make it to the quarterfinals, as it did four years ago in Japan, the boost to beer sales is likely to be in the order of £180m. Mark Hastings at the BBPA said: "The pub is the most popular place to watch football and the World Cup is the ultimate celebration of football."

Wetherspoon also unveiled an increase in sales in Scotland despite the introduction of a smoking ban on 26 March. Backed by a intensive marketing campaign, the chain's pubs attracted customers by promoting meal deals such as its steak and curry clubs. Overall the group enjoyed a 3.2 per cent increase in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 23 April, with total sales up 3.1 per cent to £209.3m.