Record World Cup TV Ratings

World Cup

The U.S. Men's National Soccer Team faces The Netherlands tomorrow in the knockout stage in one of the world's most prestigious sporting events that happens every four years—the FIFA World Cup. While a victory on the field for the U.S. is to be determined, one can most surely bet on a victory for TV ratings, as millions of Americans will gather around screens across the country to watch the game.

Viewership Soars

  • For the U.S. v England game on November 25, Fox Sports and Telemundo together garnered 20 million viewers across of all their platforms.
    • Fox Sports reported 15.49 million viewers, a record for a men's soccer match on English-language TV in the U.S., with pre- and post-game coverage included.
    • Telemundo, which is covering the tournament for Spanish-language audiences, reported 3.24 million on-air viewers and 1.27 million viewers streaming.
  • The U.S. v Iran game on November 29 became the most-streamed World Cup match ever for Fox Sports, including nearly 1 million viewers watching the network's coverage.

Larger Audiences Tuning In

Despite the unusual timing of the tournament this year, plus competing with NFL, college football, NBA and NHL games, the tournament’s viewership is gaining ground from past World Cups. 

  • Fox Sports delivered 11.7 million viewers for the USMNT Group Stage, the network's most-watched group stage on record for USMNT.
    • This is up by 10% from the previous USMNT Group Stage telecasts in 2014.
  • Fox Sports averaged 3.15 million viewers per game.
    • This is up by 44% from the same time period during the 2018 World Cup.
  • Telemundo drew nearly 2.6 million viewers per game on air, on Peacock and on its streaming platforms. 

The U.S. match against The Netherlands will air tomorrow on Fox, Telemundo and Peacock at 10 a.m. ET.