NEW YORK - The 2026 FIFA World Cup final set a new benchmark for football’s popularity in the United States, attracting a record 62.8 million viewers across Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock as Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday. According to broadcasters, Fox’s English-language coverage drew 38.9 million viewers, while Telemundo and Peacock attracted a combined 23.9 million for the Spanish-language broadcast. The total audience almost tripled the 22.3 million Americans who watched the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, highlighting football’s remarkable rise in the U.S. The tournament also proved a commercial success for broadcasters. Several knockout-stage matches outperformed championship games in Major League Baseball and the NBA, while Fox’s streaming platform, Fox One, recorded 2.8 million new subscribers in June, its strongest month since launch. With the next World Cups scheduled for Spain, Portugal and Morocco in 2030 and Saudi Arabia in 2034, industry experts believe the 2026 tournament has firmly established football as one of America’s fastest-growing spectator sports while significantly enhancing the value of future FIFA broadcasting rights.
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