World Cup Success Puts Telemundo at the Center of Soccer’s U.S. Growth

Telemundo scores No. 1 Spanish-language U.S. network and No. 2 overall as 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage carries soccer to a tipping point with American audiences.

2026 FIFA World Cup on Telemundo and Peacock logos

July 27, 2026

Soccer has reached a “critical mass” with sports fans in the U.S., according to Cesar Conde, Chairman of NBCUniversal News Group. One of the clearest signs of that shift has been the number of non-Spanish speaking viewers tuning in to Telemundo’s World Cup coverage.

“The fact that Telemundo has generated so much of its audience in this World Cup from non-Spanish speakers speaks to that genuine passion for the sport. The numbers and the trends speak to the fact that we’re in a different moment for soccer.”

– Cesar Conde

Increasingly, viewers are discovering Telemundo’s distinctive approach to soccer coverage – one built on authentic storytelling, immersive production, and the passion that has long defined the network’s broadcasts. From Andrés Cantor’s iconic “¡Gooooooooool!” calls to comprehensive match coverage across broadcast and streaming, the experience has resonated with fans well beyond traditional Spanish-language audiences.

Total World Cup viewership across both English and Spanish reached over 40 million for the quarterfinal matches. In the space of one summer, soccer has crossed a threshold to rival the saturation coverage and monocultural footprint of America’s premier sports.

World Cup ratings drive Telemundo to No. 1 in Spanish, No. 2 overall, and boost evening news ratings

In the four weeks leading up to the July 19 World Cup Final, Telemundo captured an average of at least 3.29 million viewers in prime time, according to Nielsen data, making it the country’s No. 1 Spanish-language network.

Cementing the tournament as the biggest Spanish-language sporting event in U.S. media history, the total audience delivery (TAD) from June 11-July 19 across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock, and Telemundo streaming platforms averaged 6.3 million viewers.

The same weeks saw Telemundo score No. 2 across all broadcast networks in prime time, ahead of NBC (2.31 million), ABC (2.26 million), and CBS (2.13). Only Fox, with its English-language coverage of the summer of soccer, pulled ahead.

The Final match on July 19th between Spain and Argentina became the most-watched soccer match ever in Spanish-language media history, with a TAD of 23.9 million viewers.

Those strong audience numbers also drove ratings for Telemundo’s news programming, with Noticias Telemundoaveraging 1.44 million viewers for the week ending July 12, compared to Univision’s Noticiero N+ at 1.26 million for the week.

Together, the results underscore how Spanish-language coverage is attracting increasingly diverse audiences while helping establish soccer as one of America’s fastest-growing sports.

How Telemundo is expanding World Cup enthusiasm into year-round fandom

While the massive World Cup viewership is a success in its own right, it also provides an opportunity for NBCUniversal and Telemundo to convert casual viewers into year-round fans through exposure to Premier League soccer.

“We have a lot of data that shows people out there who are discovering soccer for the first time through World Cup don’t want it to end. They want to keep their fandom going.”

– Lyndsay Signor, SVP of Marketing, NBC Sports

In an effort to convert World Cup viewers into Premier League fans, NBC Sports and Premier League launched a sharable, interactive quiz called “Find Your Match.” Its 11 questions are designed to pair fans with one of the 20 Premier League clubs based on personality traits and cultural interest, building on the excitement and momentum of the tournament.

The quiz is available on nbcsports.com, premierleague.com, and on the Premier League app.

As the World Cup concludes, NBCUniversal is focused on turning the tournament’s record-breaking momentum into year-round engagement across Telemundo, Peacock, and NBC Sports.

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