Telemundo and Peacock Redefine Soccer Fandom in the US with Record-Breaking Audiences for Spanish-Language Coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026™

Telemundo, the leading Spanish-language home of world-class soccer in the United States, closes out its coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ with record-breaking audience delivery across every stage of the tournament.

With historic milestone wins across all platforms, the tournament is the most-watched FIFA World Cup™ tournament in Spanish-language media history with an average Total Audience Delivery of 6.3 million viewers across the 104 matches, up +143% vs. the 2022 tournament (2.6 million).  Each stage of the 2026 tournament set a new Spanish-language World Cup Total Audience record and delivered triple-digit growth versus the 2022 World Cup.

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ delivered impressive growth over 2022 in linear and streaming, with the linear match window average up +79% (3.2 million vs. 1.8 million) and the digital average minute audience (AMA) up +297% (3 million vs. 767K). 

In addition, Sunday’s final battle, which saw Spain earn its second title as they dethroned reigning champions Argentina, delivered a 23.9 million Total Audience Delivery (TAD), becoming the most-watched soccer match ever in Spanish-language media history.

Lauded for its expertise, world-class and engaging content across platforms, Telemundo produced more than 700 hours of original programming through the 39-day tournament. With a roster of more than 80 on-air talent representing every Latin American country participating in the tournament, the network’s cross-platform coverage brought fans closer to the action than ever before.

TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY:

TOP 10 MOST-WATCHED SOCCER MATCHES IN SPANISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA HISTORY (TAD - MATCH WINDOWS)

• The FIFA World Cup 2026™ tournament delivered the 15 most-watched soccer matches in Spanish-language media history based on Total Audience, led by Spain vs. Argentina’s 23.9 million viewership in the Finals.
• The 77.2 billion total minutes consumed during the FIFA World Cup 2026™ across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock, and Telemundo streaming platforms, surpassed the 43.2 billion total minutes consumed for the combined 2018 and 2022 Men’s World Cup tournaments in Spanish by +79%.
• Mexico vs. England delivered 23.2 million viewers in Total Audience Delivery (TAD), making it the second most-watched soccer match ever in Spanish-language media history.
  • On linear, the full program averaged 10.1 million viewers from 8:25–11:20 p.m. ET, making it the highest-rated telecast in Spanish-language TV history; viewership peaked at 11.7 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.
• The France vs. England Third Place match delivered 7.7 million viewers in Total Audience Delivery, making it the most-watched Third Place game in Spanish-language media history, up +225% vs. the 2022 tournament (Croatia vs. Morocco, 2.4 million).
• 42 games had a Total Audience Delivery of at least 6 million viewers, up from two during the full 2022 tournament.

STREAMING

TOP 5 MOST-STREAMED MATCH WINDOWS: Average Minute Audience (AMA) Delivery

• Overall, streaming comprised 48% of Telemundo’s Total Audience Delivery for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, up from 30% contribution in 2022.  With an average minute audience (AMA) of 3 million viewers on Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms, digital viewership grew +297% vs. 2022 (767,000).
• Spain vs. Argentina Finals on July 19, is the most-streamed World Cup match in Spanish-language history with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 13.9 million viewers, +370% over the most-streamed match of the 2022 tournament (Argentina vs. France Finals, 3 million AMA).
• There were 21 games that averaged 4 million or more streaming viewers, up from zero in 2022. 

TELEMUNDO NETWORK:

• Telemundo ranked as the #1 Spanish-language television network across all 34 matchdays (June 11 – July 19) 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 +300% vs. the network’s May 2026 average.
• June 2026 was Telemundo’s highest-performing month in network history with 1.4 million average viewers in Total Day, surpassing the previous World Cup highs set in June 2018 (954K) and December 2022 (837K).  
• Sunday, July 5, set a new linear record with the highest Total Day average audience in Spanish-language television history with 3.6 million viewers, driven by the Mexico vs. England and Brazil vs. Norway Round of 16 matches. 

PEACOCK:

• Throughout the duration of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Peacock drew 4x its normal share of Hispanic viewers. Those viewers who watched World Cup also watched a variety of Peacock content, including Telemundo entertainment (e.g., El Señor de los Cielos), Peacock originals (e.g., Love Island USA, MIA, Five Star Weekend), Sports (e.g., MLB), and library content (e.g., Yellowstone, The Office).
• Cultural cross-over: While each of these cultural phenomena drew massive audiences on its own, 40% of Peacock viewers who watched Love Island USA also watched the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
• On Peacock, one in three FIFA World Cup™ viewers are Gen-Z, and they are especially receptive to brands: +21% more likely to feel loyal to World Cup advertisers and +24% more likely to view World Cup advertising as more credible than other ads.

Source: Nielsen Big Data+ Panel, L+SD, match window for TAD; Adobe Analytics; 6/11/26-7/19/26.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

• The FIFA World Cup 2026™ generated 2.25B video views across social platforms, more than 9x the combined total generated during the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups™.
• The tournament generated 75.1M social actions across social platforms, nearly 3x the combined total generated during the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups™.
  • Round of 16 Match Day 26 became the highest social engagement day in Telemundo FIFA World Cup™ history, generating 5.28M social actions.
  • Round of 16 Match Day 27 became the most-viewed social day in Telemundo FIFA World Cup™ history, generating 135.6M video views.

Source: ComScore Social, 6/11/26-7/19/26

ADVERTISING IMPACT:

NBCUniversal Transformed the FIFA World Cup 2026™ into a Record-Setting Platform for Advertisers 

NBCUniversal's coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026™drove double-digit growth across key metrics versus 2022, delivering record advertiser results while proving the essential role Spanish-language audiences play the future of sports media.

Record-Setting Brand Performance: 

Building on the strong foundation of 2022, NBCUniversal’s presentation of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ delivered even greater advertiser impact throughout the tournament vs. the 2022 Men’s World Cup, including:

• +20% higher Brand Memorability  
• +29% greater Ad Likeability #
• +19% increase in search engagement 

The final match of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ elevated advertiser impact to even greater heights vs. the 2022 Men’s World Cup, including

• +56% higher Brand Memorability
• +83% greater Ad Likeability  
• +28% increase in search engagement  

Sources:  NBCU/ BPI. MWC Audience Tracker: Wave 2: 6/11-6/17. Wave 3: 7/7-7/13. 2022 Wave 4 Data: 12/13-12/18. NBCU Viewers: NBCU viewers vs. FOX Viewers; MarketCast TVBE MWC airing on Telemundo. 6/11-7/19 vs. 2022 MWC Full tournament; EDO Online Search Engagement Ad Multiplier for SL MWC Full tournament 6/11-7/19 vs. Full MWC 2022 Final, vs. Competitive SL/EL TV. 

NBCU LOCAL STATIONS:

• On linear, the 26 Telemundo-owned stations reached 22.3 million total viewers through the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Semifinals.
• The Telemundo-owned stations’ average audience through the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Semifinals of 2.52 million viewers was +57% higher than the same period during the 2022 tournament (1.61 million) and +64% above 2018 (1.54 million).
• Eight Telemundo-owned stations captured 50 percent or more of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ audience share in their markets, including in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, and Phoenix, through the Semifinals.

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.