The United States versus Belgium match in the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup set a new U.S. television viewership record, drawing an average of 50.1 million viewers across Fox and Telemundo. Fox’s English-language broadcast alone attracted 37.2 million viewers, marking the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history and the highest non-NFL audience since the 2016 World Series Game 7. Meanwhile, Telemundo captured 12.9 million viewers, contributing to the combined total that surpassed the NFL conference championship average earlier this year.

Despite both the U.S. and Mexico teams being eliminated in the round of 16, the World Cup’s American rights holders are experiencing historic audience gains. The round of 16 matches collectively averaged 14.5 million viewers on Fox—a 216% increase from the 2022 tournament—and 11.1 million on Telemundo, up 265% from 2022. The Mexico-England match also drew 46.7 million viewers across both networks, with Telemundo achieving its highest average viewership ever for a soccer game at 23.2 million.

These record-breaking numbers underscore the World Cup’s growing appeal, with Fox reporting nearly 98.4 billion minutes consumed across its channels and digital platforms, more than quadrupling figures from the previous tournament in Qatar. Telemundo similarly recorded 61 billion minutes of consumption, eclipsing the combined metrics from the 2018 and 2022 World Cups by 41%. Fox Sports’ president of analytics, Mike Mulvihill, attributed the surge to the expanded field, better time zones, increased games, and broadcast TV access.

Industry experts believe the strong ratings and overall engagement have positioned Fox and Telemundo well for the remainder of the World Cup and the financial outcomes of their coverage. With only seven matches remaining, the significant audience gains already achieved mark a mission accomplished, suggesting that forthcoming quarterly earnings for both networks’ parent companies will reflect the event’s success. Additionally, these viewership milestones are expected to influence the upcoming U.S. media rights sale for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.