The 2026 World Cup may have only really just begun, but the early indication is that it has already been a huge success for TV broadcasters.
That is especially true for FOX Sports and Telemundo.
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According to Nielsen data, through the first 16 group stage matches, Fox and cable network FS1 have seen an average of 6 million viewers tune in to watch.
The data highlights that this is an increase of 128 percent over the viewing figures of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
For Telemundo, with their telecasts also streamed on Peacock, the first 12 group stage matches of the expanded 48-team tournament drew in an average of 7.5 million viewers.
This is an increase of a whopping 234 percent.
The biggest increase, however, has been seen in the viewership of co-hosts United States’ men’s national team (USMNT).
In the USMNT’s opening game against Paraguay – an impressive 4-1 win in Los Angeles – 18 million viewers tuned into Fox and its streaming platforms, while Telemundo’s telecast drew in an additional 9.5 million.
This 27.5 million figure set a record for the most-watched World Cup game on both English and Spanish language television.
This is the first time that the World Cup is being played on U.S. soil since 1994, when the USMNT reached the Round of 16, and the expectation is that the viewership numbers will continue to climb the further that Mauricio Pochettino’s men advance in the tournament.
“Having this World Cup in North America clearly has a huge impact on ratings,” Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis, said, via the Los Angeles Times.
Fox bringing in similar numbers to NFL
With the biggest tournament in football taking place on home soil, shared with Mexico and Canada, the argument being made is that World Cup fever is rife across those countries.
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And, in turn, more and more people who weren’t necessarily soccer fans before, are now getting encapsulated by their surroundings.
“For many years, the numbers were under-counted and what we’re seeing now is a truer representation of the sports audience,” Fox Sports president of insights and analytics’ Mike Mulvihill said in a recent interview.
“You just cannot overstate what it means to us to be able to capture all that viewing that’s happening at fan fests, in bars and at smaller watch parties.”
FOX paid $485 million to land the English-language broadcast rights for the summer tournament in America.
Already, they have made $250 million back due to the in-game advertising that has come from the controversial three-minute hydration breaks that have been integrated into each half of the game.
Mulvihill also estimates that by the end of the World Cup, over 150 million people would have tuned in to watch at least some part of Fox’s coverage.
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For context, Fox reaches an estimated 170 million viewers across the course of an NFL season.
“For us, it’s like having two NFL seasons in a single year,” Mulvihill said.
For the network, a similar viewership number to that of its NFL coverage has also come at a fraction of the price.
This comes as Fox currently pays $2.25 billion per year – a figure that could yet rise amid looming broadcast negotiations – for its slate of NFL games, which in 2026 will see two additional regular season games added after the announcement was made back in May.
In comparison, the broadcast fee for the World Cup is just 21.5 percent of that amount, which is considered a huge bargain for Fox.
Next time that FIFA shop their rights, though, they will likely drive a much higher price.
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