FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage Averages a Total Audience Delivery of 4.6 million viewers in Spanish, Up 122% vs. 2022 Group Stage
Group Stage Delivers Average Minute Audience of 2.0 Million Viewers on Peacock and Telemundo Streaming Platforms, Up 251% vs. 2022
Nearly One Out of Every Two People Watching FIFA World Cup 2026™ Is Watching in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock
Mexico Delivers Three Most-Watched Soccer Matches Ever in Spanish-Language Media History in Total Audience
U.S. Men’s National Team Delivers Three Most-Watched Team USA World Cup Matches in Spanish-Language Media History in Total Audience
Telemundo is #1 Spanish-Language Broadcast Network for Total Day since Start of FIFA World Cup 2026™
Miami, FL, June 30, 2026 – Capitalizing on its most ambitious Spanish-language World Cup™ coverage to date, Telemundo and Peacock deliver unprecedented audiences for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage.
Throughout the 72 matches of the Group Stage, nearly one out of every two World Cup™ viewers in the U.S. is watching in Spanish. While U.S. Hispanics represent 20% of the population, Telemundo and Peacock have captured 48% of the combined World Cup™ audience.
Following are consumption highlights for the Group Stage of the tournament (June 11 – June 27):
TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY:
TOP 5 MOST-WATCHED MATCH WINDOWS (Total Audience Delivery)
- Across 72 matches, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 4.6 million viewers in the 2026 Group Stage, with both linear and streaming registering impressive growth over 2022, with the linear match window average up +73% (2.6 million vs. 1.5 million) and the digital average minute audience (AMA) up +251% (2.0 million vs. 578K). This also represents a +122% increase in viewers compared to the Total Audience Delivery for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Group Stage.
- With 39.9 billion total minutes consumed across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms in the Group Stage, FIFA World Cup 2026™ is +50% larger than the Qatar 2022 and Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup™ Group Stages combined.
- Mexico delivers three most-watched soccer matches in Spanish-language media history during the Group Stage based on Total Audience Delivery:
- June 18: Mexico vs. South Korea – 14.0 million viewers
- June 24: Mexico vs. Czechia – 12.3 million viewers
- June 11: Mexico vs. South Africa inaugural match – 10.1 million viewers, also ranking as the most-watched FIFA World Cup™ Opening Game in history
- U.S. Men’s National Team holds the three most-watched Team USA World Cup™ matches in Spanish-language media history based on Total Audience Delivery:
- June 25: USA vs. Turkey – 7.4 million viewers
- June 12: USA vs. Paraguay – 7.0 million viewers
- June 19: USA vs. Australia – 6.8 million viewers
- Five other countries also had their highest Total Audience Delivery ever for a FIFA World Cup™ match in Spanish-language media history: Brazil (7.9M TAD, June 13); Uruguay (7.0M TAD, June 21); Ecuador (6.8M TAD, June 14); plus, Colombia and Portugal when they played each other on June 27 (9.2M TAD).
- Using a three-game average of Group Stage Total Audience Delivery, the Top 5 teams of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ are: Mexico (12.1 million); Colombia (7.7 million); Argentina (7.2 million); USA (7.1 million); and Brazil (7.0 million).
- 18 games had a Total Audience Delivery of at least 6.0 million viewers and 47 with at least 4.0 million, up from 1 and 8, respectively, in the 2022 Group Stage.
STREAMING
TOP 5 MOST-STREAMED MATCH WINDOWS (Average Minute Audience (AMA) Delivery)
- Overall, streaming comprised 44% of Telemundo’s Total Audience Delivery for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage, with an average minute audience (AMA) of 2.0 million viewers on Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms, which is up 251% vs. 2022 (578K).
- Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18, is the most-streamed World Cup™ match in Spanish-language media history with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 6.1 million viewers, +107% over the most streamed match of the 2022 tournament (Argentina vs. France Final, 2.96 million AMA).
- There have been 12 games that averaged 3.0 million or more streaming viewers, up from zero in 2022, while a record 37 Group Stage games top 2+ million streaming viewers across Peacock & Telemundo digital platforms.
- Argentina vs. Algeria on June 16 and USA vs. Turkey on June 25 were other highly streamed matches with an AMA of 3.8 million viewers and 3.3 million viewers, respectively.
TELEMUNDO NETWORK
- On linear, the Mexico vs. Korea Republic full program (8:29PM – 11:08PM) is the highest rated telecast in Telemundo network history, delivering 7.2 million total viewers, reaching a peak quarter-hour of 8.6 million viewers.
- Year-to-date, Telemundo FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage has produced the top 47 most-watched soccer matches on Spanish-language TV.
- El Pelotazo, Telemundo’s nightly sports show, is performing significantly above its May 2026 average with 684K viewers, a lift of +294%.
- Telemundo has ranked as the #1 Spanish-language television network for 17 consecutive days (June 11 – June 27) during Total Day (7A-2A) with 1.9 million average viewers, and a share of 76% of the three Spanish-language networks. This Total Day delivery is up +297% vs. the network’s May 2026 average. [Telemundo, Univision and Unimas comprise the three-network Spanish-language audience.]
- Telemundo broke viewership records for most-watched days in network history 7 times so far during the FIFA World Cup™ Group Stage.
PEACOCK
- Nearly 80% of those who came to Peacock for World Cup are also watching non-World Cup content. This is led by Spanish language content (e.g., El Señor de los Cielos, Dinastía Casillas), Peacock originals (e.g., The Paper, ted and The ‘Burbs), and Universal films (e.g., Fast & The Furious franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise). This percentage has steadily increased throughout the tournament.
SOCIAL MEDIA
- The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage generated 25.4 million actions across social platforms, up +221% more than the combined 2018 and 2022 Group Stages.
- In video views, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage generated 860.6 million video views across platforms, a +396% increase over the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ Group Stage.
ADVERTISING IMPACT
- Telemundo continues to drive the highest lifts on record for advertisers in a Spanish-Language World Cup, demonstrating the impact of the environment for brands. Compared to the 2022 tournament, viewers report a +13% stronger connection to brands that advertise or sponsor the World Cup, a +48% increase in loyalty toward World Cup advertisers, and a +15% stronger perception of credibility for World Cup advertising versus non-World Cup advertising. (Source: BPI 2022 & 2026 Men’s World Cup Sentiment Tracker.) Additionally, both Spanish-language and English-language advertising are delivering strong results, including double-digit lifts in purchase intent compared to competitive Spanish-language television. (Source: MarketCast TVBE, Men’s World Cup on Telemundo through 6/22 vs. Competitive SL TV Past Year, excluding NBCU.)
LOCAL STATIONS:
- On linear, Telemundo-owned stations reached 17.4 million total viewers during the first 15 days of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Group Stage (first 60 matches).
- Telemundo-owned stations’ average audience increased more than +50% among total viewers when compared to the same period of the 2022 tournament, and more than +60% when compared to 2018.
- Telemundo-owned stations’ share of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ audience surpassed 50% in 11 markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston and Phoenix, among total viewers.
Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, L+SD, match window for TAD; Adobe Analytics; 6/11/26-6/27/26.
Source: Nielsen Live+SD. Total audience Person 2+. Average audience based on quarter-hour delivery and reach based on unique 6-minute qualifier.
Telemundo markets: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Antonio, Phoenix, San Francisco, Orlando, Tampa, Sacramento, Harlingen-McAllen, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Fresno, Denver, San Diego, El Paso, Albuquerque, Boston, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Hartford & New Haven, and Ft. Myers.
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About NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises:
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises leads the media industry in the production and distribution of Spanish-language content for U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. The company serves U.S. Hispanics through its national broadcast network, the cable network Universo, and digital platforms including the Telemundo app, a suite of FAST channels, and streaming services, such as Peacock, among others. The Telemundo Network offers Spanish-language entertainment, news, and sports content reaching 96% of U.S. Hispanic TV households in 210 markets through 30 owned stations and 94 affiliate stations. Telemundo also owns an independent station serving Puerto Rico. Anchored on Telemundo Studios, the network is the #1 producer of scripted Spanish-language content in the U.S., and the only network to produce original content specifically for US Hispanic audiences. Offering over 600 hours of reality TV shows a year, and top-rated live specials such as the Billboard Latin Music Awards and Miss Universe, Telemundo is considered the undisputed Home of Live TV in Hispanic media. The network is also the exclusive Spanish-language home of the world’s two most popular sporting events, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is a division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
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