The FIFA World Cup finals match in which Spain beat Argentina 2-0 scored a record 66.4 million average viewers across all networks/streamers airing the event, according to Nielsen.
For the North American-based event, Fox Television Network and its platforms averaged 42.5 million viewers for the English-language edition, while Telemundo/Peacock came in at 23.9 million viewers for the Spanish-language version.
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It was the highest-rated TV event since the Super Bowl LX’s 125.6 million viewers in February, and higher than the two NFL Conference finals games in January — 48.6 million (AFC, New England-Denver) and 46.1 million (NFC, Los Angeles-Seattle).
Looking at the entire month-long event, Fox averaged 7.74 million viewers — up 116% from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Telemundo/Peacock was at 6.3 million viewers — 143% more versus Qatar.
Total “FIFA World Cup 2026” ad spending — matches, pre-game and post-game programming — was estimated at $590.2 million (12,422 airings) for Fox, according to iSpot.
For its “Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026,” Telemundo took in $403.6 million, with 7,068 airings.
The top-spending brands included Google, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Nike, American Express, AT&T, Adidas, YouTube TV and Walmart.
