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The American men’s first World Cup knockout stage victory in 24 years set a record in the US soccer rankings.
The United States’ win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday averaged 24.43 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers. That number could rise slightly in the final ratings, but either way, it’s the largest English-language television audience ever for any soccer match in the United States.
The 24.43 million viewers includes pre-match coverage, putting it ahead of the previous record of 22.32 million viewers for the 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan, also on Fox. For the match alone, the 2015 women’s final recorded 25.4 million viewers.
Telemundo and Peacock attracted an additional 9.1 million viewers for the Spanish-language telecast of the match. The combined total of 33.53 million breaks the previous US record for a soccer match of 26.7 million viewers for both the 2015 women’s final (Fox and Telemundo) and the 2014 men’s final between Germany and Argentina (ABC and Univision).
On Tuesday, Telemundo and Peacock set an all-time Spanish-language record in Mexico’s 2-0 win over Ecuador, averaging 18.9 million viewers — more than half of that (9.7 million) coming from live. Fox’s English-language broadcast attracted 10.43 million viewers, for a total of 29.33 million viewers.
Fox’s viewership peaked Wednesday at 31.88 million viewers from 9:45-10 PM ET, as the USA held on for a 2-0 win despite being down to one man for the final 25 minutes of the game. Striker Folarin Balogun received a controversial red card in the 64th minute after obstructing Bosnia and Herzegovina player Tariq Muharimovic.
Both Fox Sports and Telemundo/Peacock have enjoyed huge ratings increases over the 2022 World Cup so far. Some increases were expected given that the tournament is being held in North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States are co-hosts), but during the group stage and the first few days of the knockout rounds, the number of viewers for the English and Spanish broadcasts doubled compared to the 2022 edition.
The American men will face Belgium in the Round of 16 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on Monday.
July 2, 3:05 p.m Mexico vs. Ecuador match ratings updated.
