World Cup Ratings Were Supposed To Be Big, But THIS Big?! Fox & Telemundo Execs On The Secrets To The Surge

For Fox‘s Mike Mulvihill, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has put a final exclamation mark on the answer to the decades-old question of whether soccer can ever become mainstream in the U.S.

“It’s a settled issue,” said the exec, who is president of insights and analytics for Fox’s entertainment and sports divisions as well as Tubi. “The numbers that we’ve seen even prior to this tournament have answered that question conclusively.”

A bit more than halfway to the runup to the July 17 final, this year’s World Cup is already reaching the rarefied air of something beyond even the NBA Finals or the World Series. More than 43 million total viewers tuned in to Fox and Telemundo in English and Spanish for the U.S. victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, according to Nielsen. Streaming simulcasts on Fox One and NBCU’s Peacock are amplifying the reach. Telemundo is adding its authenticated streaming platform to the mix, and Fox is benefiting from Fox One, the streaming flagship that it launched in 2025.

“There really shouldn’t be any debate at this point about whether soccer is popular or will ever be popular,” Mulvihill told Deadline in an interview. “I guess the question now is just, what does it mean for the future of soccer?” With the largest TV sport as an in-house comparison, he added, for Fox “the reach of the World Cup will be almost like having a second NFL season.”

Even before the fireworks of the knockout round, the group stage was one for the record books. It averaged 5.1M viewers across 72 matches on Fox, FS1 and Tubi – a 92% increase from 2022, easily the best average for the group stage in English-language U.S. history.

Telemundo reported an even larger surge, 122%, over 2022, averaging 4.6 million viewers.

Both companies say the viewership far exceeded internal forecasts, especially on the streaming side. The weeks-long windfall is especially sweet given the angst across traditional media, which is reshaping itself (as Telemundo parent Comcast and Fox Corp. have done in recent weeks, announcing a corporate split and the $22 billion acquisition of Roku, respectively) in response to Big Tech.

Although this year’s tournament expanded to 48 teams from 32 in the previous World Cup, boosting the number of matches on the schedule and skewing comparisons, the growth has still been striking.

The strength of the U.S. team, which many experts rate as the nation’s most talented ever, has been a major driver of attention. The Americans’ win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, on home soil on the eve of the country’s 250th birthday, merely extended a string of stellar tune-in for matches against Türkiye, Paraguay and Australia.

Non-U.S. teams have also been a draw, however. With 10M viewers, Brazil and Morocco’s group stage match was the most-watched non-USMNT FIFA Men’s World Cup group stage telecast in English-language U.S. history.

Mulvihill cited large viewership for teams from the likes of Cape Verde, Haiti and Uruguay. “These are countries where, not only can most Americans not name any of the players, a lot of us can’t find these countries on a map,” he said. “And yet, our audiences are showing up by the millions for these games because, I think the spirit of the tournament, it has such a great vibe and a great feel to it, that people are showing up to experience that and experience that together.”

Joaquín Duro, EVP of sports and head of streaming at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, told Deadline a similar embrace of spectacle exists for Spanish-language audiences. But he also said certain production choices have paid dividends, especially when it has come to delivering authentic experiences across the wide range of communities under the general umbrella of Spanish speakers.

After the last World Cup in Qatar, in 2022, he and his colleagues did a “deep dive into the audiences and how we lost some Spanish-dominant viewers to Fox while also taking some general-market viewers,” he recalled. The verdict was that the coverage had focused a bit too much on traditional powers Mexico and Argentina. With Lionel Messi, then 35, defying nature in Tom Brady-like fashion, Argentina stormed to its third World Cup title, which worked in Telemundo’s favor.

“But Hispanics, we have a lot of things in common, but we are very different,” Duro said. “This is why we created this array of people, and now I have Colombian people calling Colombian games, and Argentinian calling Argentinian, and Mexico calling Mexico.”

The more targeted strategy has extended to social media, with tournament organizer FIFA granting broadcasters select access for influencers and social media personalities. One such example created an indelible moment, Duro said, when retired Paraguayan player Roque Santa Cruz watched from the front row behind the goal as the team scored an upset over Germany in a penalty-kick thriller. Immediately after the final whistle, he embraced members of the team and also consoled German players (in German, which he learned while playing professionally for Bayern Munich).

That emotional reaction, Duro said, combined with analysts who know teams like Colombia and Ecuador as well as powers like Spain, cements the relationship with the viewer. “Not only the Paraguayans believe you and trust you and want to stay with you, but with the rest of the nationalities, you gain more credibility.”

Fox and Telemundo both expect the good times to keep rolling, and both readily acknowledge the North American site of this year’s World Cup is a major advantage. The lack of competition is another plus when comparing this year with 2022, which was shifted to November and December due to the heat in Qatar, putting the tournament up against football.

The pitches are amazing. The stadiums are filled. It’s just like a movie.

Mulvihill acknowledges the expansion of the tournament has led to some refreshing Cinderellas, and nine of 10 teams from Africa making it through to the knockout rounds. “Similar to March Madness, you love to see upsets and chaos in the first weekend of the tournament and you like to see that in the group stage,” he said. “As it goes on, mostly you want to see the superpowers play the superpowers. … I do believe we’re getting to a part of the tournament where both we as the media partner and I think most American fans want to see the big powers assert themselves and give us those incredibly powerful matchups that you only get at a World Cup.”

Duro, similarly, hopes the U.S. stays in at least a bit longer. Even if the Stars and Stripes get eliminated before equaling its best modern showing (a quarterfinal run in 2002), the exec believes Telemundo and Peacock viewers will embrace whoever makes it to the final few rounds.

“We’ve created this way of producing games that is getting people excited, regardless of who plays,” Duro said. “The pitches are amazing. The stadiums are filled. It’s just like a movie.”