When the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America on June 11, it’s easily predicted to garner billions of viewers all over the globe, with millions of fans also watching the action live. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar saw more than 5 billion people engage with the tournament,

A home World Cup and the associated American-friendly time zones are paying off in a big way for Fox and Telemundo. Through Sunday’s matches, viewership for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is up a whopping 152% across Fox and FS1 versus the Group Stage average during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The 2026 Men's World Cup matches have already broken viewership records. Things are still early, so bigger audiences may be on the horizon.

Viewership of FIFA World Cup 2026™ Averages 7.5 Million Viewers, Up +234% vs. 2022 Through First Twelve Games. USA Opener on Friday is Most-Watched USMNT FIFA World Cup™ Match

Fox Sports' average for the World Cup pregame show is just under what ESPN/ESPNU averaged for “College GameDay” this past season (2.7 million), but above the 1.8 million that “Big Noon Kickoff” averaged on Fox during the college football regular season.

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Like the matches themselves, the pregame has more than doubled its audience from 2022.

June 19 drew the largest audiences for a single day of World Cup coverage in the history of U.S. English-language TV When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. As the 2026 FIFA World Cup moved ...

Early TV ratings for the 2026 World Cup, though, set records for Fox and Telemundo. The United States’ opening match against Paraguay drew 18 million viewers on Fox Sports, becoming the most-watched English-language soccer telecast ever in the U.S., per Deadline.

FIFA will have a wide range of suitors for future men's World Cup TV rights in the U.S. "Hydration breaks" may drive the price up even more.

Others around the country may scoff at the notion that Kansas City is the Soccer Capital of America, but there is no denying it’s the Soccer Viewing Capital of America. At least