DOHA, QATAR—A week since the 2022 FIFA World Cup began, U.S. viewership of the quadrennial event on Spanish language network Telemundo is up 14% for 20 games, averaging a total audience delivery (TAD) of 2.4 million viewers, with Friday night’s England v. USA match nearly double that at 4.6 million viewers across Telemundo, Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms. This makes it the second-most watched World Cup Group Stage match featuring a U.S. team in Spanish-language history. Fox Sports is the host U.S. broadcaster for the World Cup, while Telemundo is the exclusive Spanish-language media rights holder in the U.S.
The 4.6 million viewers for the 0-0 tie between England and USA -- played at 2 p.m. ET on Friday—was up 33% compared to the USA’s first match vs. Wales (3.5 million) on Monday and surpassed nine of the 10 most recent Group Stage matches played by the U.S. team. For the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the only match with higher viewership than Friday night’s match was on June 22, 2014, when the USA tied Portugal 2-2 at FIFA World Cup Brazil. This year’s World Cup is the first to take place in the fall in order to offset Qatar’s extreme summer heat. The USA did not qualify for the tournament in 2018.
England v. USA is now the second-most watched match of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Spanish, trailing only Thursday’s Brazil v. Serbia game (5.7 million) played on Thanksgiving afternoon.
The match was also Telemundo’s third-most streamed match of the tournament, averaging an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 1.27 million viewers on Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms. England v. USA trails only Thursday’s Brazil v. Serbia match (1.31 million) and Tuesday’s Mexico v. Poland game (1.35 million), which is the most-streamed World Cup game in history, regardless of language.
Telemundo says the streaming success has driven Peacock to the No. 1 spot on the App Store for free iOS apps every day since the tournament began, with the Telemundo Deportes app often breaking into the Top 5.
During the England v. USA match window (1:30-4:00 pm ET), Telemundo ranked as the No. 1 Spanish-language network in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco, Orlando, Sacramento, Tampa, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C, Boston and Atlanta.
Viewership figures are based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. Telemundo is the exclusive Spanish-language media rights holder to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the U.S.
