Fox and Telemundo, the English-language and Spanish-language broadcasters of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, respectively, are putting up eye-popping numbers for the tournament.
Through the group stage, the two networks are combining to average 9.65 million viewers per match, according to data compiled by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. Fox Sports is averaging 5.05 million viewers per match across Fox and FS1 (a figure that includes pre-match coverage), while Telemundo is averaging 4.6 million viewers per match (a figure that includes the match window only, and includes streaming viewership from Peacock measured by Adobe Analytics). Per Lewis, Fox Sports is up 92 percent versus the 2022 Group Stage average in Qatar (2.64 million viewers), while Telemundo is up 122 percent (2.07 million viewers).
Unsurprisingly, the U.S. Men’s National Team has been the biggest draw of the tournament for the American audience. The USMNT’s three group stage matches averaged 17.02 million viewers on Fox and 7.1 million viewers on Telemundo and Peacock, combining for a total average of over 24 million viewers per match.
It is important to note, this is the first World Cup to be measured using Nielsen’s expanded out-of-home viewing sample, which began in February 2025, and just the second World Cup to include any out-of-home viewing in the top-line measurement. It’s also the first World Cup to be measured under Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel methodology, which incorporates data from connected televisions into its final number. All of these changes have generally served to increase the raw viewership figures for live sports compared to prior years.
That being said, viewership for this World Cup is undoubtedly very strong. Favorable time zones, the performances of both the United States and Mexico, and the widespread excitement for the event taking place on home soil have all certainly helped lift viewership to new highs.
Source: Awful Announcing
