The World Cup final turned out to be quite the success for Fox as a staggering number of viewers tuned in to see Spain beat Argentina 1-0 at MetLife Stadium.
The match attracted 38.9 million viewers—setting a record as the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast in the U.S. With viewership peaking at around 51.7 million, these numbers were confirmed by Nielsen’s recent data.
Throughout the tournament, Fox aired all 104 matches in English, maintaining solid ratings, especially even after the U.S. team exited in the Round of 16 against Belgium.
This coverage came from multiple platforms, including Fox, FS1, and Tubi, averaging 7.73 million viewers during the tournament. That’s quite a leap from the previous two World Cups: the 2022 event brought in an average of 3.588 million, while the 2018 Cup averaged about 2.77 million.
On the Spanish-language side, Telemundo also reached impressive ratings, with the final attracting 23.9 million viewers—marking it as the most-watched Spanish-language soccer event in the U.S.
The tournament itself gained a reputation for its thrilling gameplay, along with star players who really engaged American sports fans.
Names like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Folarin Balogun became quite popular in the U.S. over the course of the World Cup.
Interestingly, the third-place match between England and France also pulled in substantial ratings, with Fox achieving an average audience of 13.13 million, including pre-match coverage.
Telemundo followed suit, attracting 7.7 million viewers for the third-place game. Both networks set new records for broadcasts of a World Cup third-place match, whether English or Spanish-language.
