The 2026 FIFA World Cup once again demonstrated the value of home team focus for broadcasters. Television viewership across Europe soared while the national team was still in the tournament, but declined after the elimination. Still, fans flocked to the final between Spain and Argentina on July 19, and while national pride provided the greatest excitement, it proved that a good World Cup can not only be a powerful live television event in its own right, but also a cultural event.
The game attracted many stars, including Justin Bieber who performed at halftime, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Timothee Chalamet and his father Mark and girlfriend Kylie Jenner, Tom Cruise, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, David and Victoria Beckham, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, Carlos Alcaraz, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. The impact of the World Cup goes beyond sports.
Spain’s 1-0 World Cup victory unsurprisingly drew the largest attendance ever recorded for the tournament in the country, making it the second most-watched television competition in Spain’s history, surpassed only by the penalty shootout between Portugal and Portugal in the Euro 2012 semi-finals.
While Spaniards all over Spain sat in agony as they were unable to convert numerous scoring chances into goals, the final was watched by an average of 15.7 million viewers, with an impressive viewership rating of 87.1% across RTVE’s La 1, local broadcasters 3Cat, La 2 and DAZN, for a total of 20.1 million viewers.
Spanish media was quick to draw conclusions about this victory. “It is not difficult to see in this team, in the diversity of its players’ backgrounds, in the personalities of its stars, in their style of play and in their ability to connect fully with their fans and people, that they reflect what this country is and can be in the 21st century,” said an editorial Monday in Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The contrast with the defeated semifinalists was telling. The French audience was the hardest hit after “Les Bleus” was eliminated. The semi-final between France and Spain was the biggest TV audience of the year, with 20.2 million viewers and a 73% M6 rating, according to Mediametry. However, by the time the finals began, the audience had dropped to 12.24 million, with a share of 59.2%. This means that when France’s Hope ended, the number of viewers would have decreased by approximately 8 million people, and the viewership share points would have decreased by approximately 14 points.
Britain turned out to be slightly less capricious. England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina was watched by an average of 22.1 million people and a peak of 24 million on BBC One, making it the UK’s biggest television broadcast to date.
Despite England’s loss in the final, it averaged 13.9 million viewers, peaked at 15.8 million viewers, and had a 64% audience share across BBC One and iPlayer. ITV viewership reportedly reached 3.4 million viewers at its peak. The drop was modest compared to France, suggesting British viewers are willing to stick around a little longer after their team is eliminated.
In Italy, where the home team did not even qualify, spectators flocked to the final between Spain and Argentina. The match had approximately 12.5 million viewers on linear TV prime time on state broadcaster RAI’s RAI-1 channel, with an average viewer rating of 65% and rising to 74% in overtime.
In the US, the strong performance of the tournament on FOX has already sparked talk of the next battle for FIFA’s media rights, with reports suggesting streamers such as Netflix, YouTube and Apple could be involved. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said at the Fanatics Fest conference in New York that Disney-owned ESPN is interested in acquiring the U.S. rights to the next World Cup.
Fox paid $485 million in rights fees for the 2026 Games and is expected to earn about $850 million in ad revenue with Spanish-language partner Telemundo, with Fox alone reportedly earning as much as $250 million from hydration break commercials, according to SportsPro.
