FIFA World Cup final draws record viewership in United States

Nearly 63 million Americans tuned in to watch Spain beat Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, shattering viewership records and underscoring football’s growing appeal in the United States after decades of efforts to broaden its audience.

Held in New Jersey, the final remained scoreless until Spain broke through in the 106th minute to secure a 1-0 victory in extra time.

Fox’s English-language broadcast attracted 38.9 million viewers while Comcast’s Telemundo TV network and Peacock streaming platform pulled in another 23.9 million viewers for the Spanish-language coverage, the companies said. The combined audience far exceeded the 22.3 million US viewers who watched the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.

The strong viewership capped what analysts said was a solid run for the tournament’s broadcasters with Fox and Comcast paying roughly $485m and $600m, respectively, for rights packages that included the World Cup, according to media reports.

Several knockout-stage matches also outperformed recent championship games in other major US sports.

The round of 16 meeting between England and Mexico drew nearly 45 million viewers, well above the roughly 27 million who watched Game 7 of Major League Baseball’s World Series when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings and the nearly 25 million who tuned in for Game 5 of the NBA Finals when the New York Knicks ended a 53-year title drought by defeating the San Antonio Spurs.

While the figures remained below the nearly 126 million viewers who watched Super Bowl LX when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots, they marked a significant milestone for a sport long overshadowed in the US by American football, basketball and baseball.

The World Cup, cohosted by the US, Canada and Mexico for the first time, benefitted from prime-time kickoff slots for US audiences. Fans were also drawn by what could be the final World Cup appearances of a generation’s biggest stars, including Argentina’s Lionel Messi and his longtime Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The last time the US hosted the tournament was in 1994.

Fox broadcast all 104 fixtures on its English platforms, and US viewership remained strong even after the USA were eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16 on July 6.

The next World Cup will be cohosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco in 2030, followed by Saudi Arabia in 2034. Both tournaments are likely to feature less favourable kickoff times for US viewers, which could weigh on future ratings.