Sunday’s final match of the FIFA World Cup is on track to break ratings records for Spanish-language media.
The final, which saw Spain overtake Argentina to win the 2026 World Cup, brought in 22.6 million viewers across Telemundo and Peacock, according to preliminary Nielsen figures. The match is on track to become the most-watched FIFA World Cup final in Spanish-language media history.
These viewing figures do not include English-language coverage on Fox, which will significantly boost viewership for the match.
On Telemundo and Peacock, viewership for the match is up 150% over the 2022 World Cup final, which saw 9 million viewers tune in for the Argentina-France match.
Under a third of that viewership was from Telemundo’s linear channel, which saw the match average 8.7 million preliminary total viewers, rising 56% from the 2022 final viewership of 5.5 million. Linear viewership peaked with 11.2 million viewers at 5:45 p.m. ET.
The World Cup has brought in historic viewership since its onset in June, with nearly every round setting records across both English-language coverage on Fox and Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo and Peacock.
The semi-finals averaged over 15 million viewers on Fox, the most-watched in U.S. history, and the same milestone was seen on Telemundo as the network scored the most-watched semi-finals ever in Spanish-language media history with 10.6 million average viewers.
Sunday’s match saw Spain and Argentina play extra time after remaining 0-0 for the allotted 90 minutes, with Spain’s Ferran Torres scoring the winning goal.
Star power was on display during the halftime show, which saw musicians including Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber, Coldplay and Burna Boy take the stage alongside cameos from “Ted Lasso” stars Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt.
