The 2026 FIFA World Cup is no longer just a global soccer tournament. It is becoming one of the largest real-world tests of how sports will be watched, monetized, and distributed in the streaming era.
From June 11 through July 19 across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the expanded 48-team tournament will deliver 104 matches across multiple platforms, including FOX One, FOX Sports, and Peacock’s Spanish-language coverage through Telemundo. That means fans will not just be choosing which team to watch, but also how they want to experience the entire event across broadcast TV, streaming apps, antenna TV, and social media.
Americans Want to Watch the World Cup, But Not the Hassle
For the first time since 1994, the World Cup returns to United States soil, and the buzz is already spilling into domestic soccer. Major League Soccer has seen a 62% spike in viewership as anticipation for the global tournament builds.
But unlike previous editions, watching the World Cup is no longer as simple as turning on the TV and finding a match.
Even as viewing options multiply, interest in the tournament remains strong in the United States.
According to Seton Hall University’s latest Sports Poll, 33% of all Americans plan to watch or follow the 2026 World Cup, along with 51% of sports fans, 81% of soccer fans, and 50% of adults ages 18–34. The poll, conducted in early April among 1,601 U.S. adults, suggests that anticipation for the tournament is already high months before kickoff.
“When it comes to total viewership and total revenue, the World Cup is in a category all by itself,” notes Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., Methodologist of the Seton Hall Sports Poll.
Ladik also pointed out that interest may be even stronger than the data suggests, since the survey was conducted well before the tournament began, compared to prior cycles where polling occurred much closer to kickoff.
Watching Sports Is No Longer a Single-Platform Experience
At the same time, the way fans say they will watch highlights shows how fragmented sports viewing has become. These days, fans are not choosing one platform and ignoring the rest. They are moving between live TV, apps, social clips, and free over-the-air options depending on convenience, cost, and what they want in the moment.
Research from Stagwell backs that up, finding that 62% of sports fans enjoy watching sports content on social media more than on traditional TV, while 50% prefer short clips, highlights, or behind-the-scenes moments over full games.
A separate Reviews.org survey shows how that behavior will play out during the World Cup:
- 80.8% plan to watch highlights and clips on social media
- 72.7% expect to watch via traditional TV or cable
- 58.8% will use streaming platforms like FOX One or Peacock
- 35.3% plan to use an antenna for free over-the-air broadcasts
Nearly half of respondents also said they expect to subscribe to a streaming service specifically for the World Cup, while about 22% said they plan to cancel once the tournament ends.
That “subscribe for the event, cancel after” behavior has become increasingly common in live sports streaming, especially among younger viewers who have largely grown up in a streaming-first world. That creates a unique challenge for broadcasters and streaming services alike, of how to reach fans who consume sports very differently than they did even a decade ago.
The Streaming Industry Is Betting on Engagement, Not Just Games
In other words, the live match is only part of the experience now. The rest happens through clips, recaps, highlights, and algorithm-driven feeds that surface key moments instantly. This fragmentation is also changing how streaming platforms are built.
TiVo’s broader findings in its Q4 2025 Video Trends Report found that 70% of consumers now use ad-supported streaming services (AVOD or FAST), while social media increasingly plays a role in what people choose to watch. Viewers are no longer simply opening one app and watching what is scheduled. They are bouncing between platforms, discovering content through clips, and piecing together their own viewing experience.
That dynamic is especially important for the World Cup, where streaming services are not just competing to carry matches; they are competing to keep viewers inside their ecosystems.
That is why Peacock has built out a more interactive World Cup experience, including live matches, replays, multiview options, mobile-first vertical highlights, catch-up key plays, and in-app engagement features designed to extend watch time beyond the final whistle.
FOX One, meanwhile, is positioning itself as the central hub for English-language coverage, combining live matches with on-demand access, multiview, and supplemental content.
Why the 2026 World Cup Could Be a Streaming Gold Mine
The stakes extend far beyond viewership. They are also about revenue and long-term positioning. Sports Business Journal reported that FOX is paying under $500 million for World Cup rights, a figure that analysts suggest could be “worth as much as three times more” in an open-market scenario.
With 104 matches and expanded coverage, including 340 hours of live first-run programming, FOX is betting on both live audiences and massive ad inventory to drive returns. FOX executives view the scope of the 2026 tournament as something that will draw a casual viewership bump rivaling their NFL numbers. Pete Distad, CEO of Direct-to-Consumer at FOX, noted: “It’s going to be huge, more than the entire NFL season.”
Industry estimates suggest the 2026 World Cup could generate hundreds of millions in advertising revenue, especially with more matches airing in primetime U.S. viewing windows due to the North American host setup. SportsPro reported that FOX and Telemundo are projected to pull in a combined $850 million in advertising revenue for the tournament, more than doubling the $282 million total ad spend generated during the 2022 World Cup.
According to Animal House, the networks and streamers are commanding Super Bowl-equivalent Cost Per Thousand (CPM) rates. Unlike past tournaments in Europe or the Middle East, the 2026 World Cup will largely align with U.S. viewing habits, maximizing live engagement and ad value.
Peacock is also positioning the tournament as part of its broader push toward profitability later this year, with live sports acting as one of its key growth drivers. The platform’s World Cup hub is designed to increase time spent inside the app, which is critical for subscription retention and ad monetization.
The Final Whistle Is Just the Beginning
Though the World Cup is a massive business opportunity for FIFA’s media partners, sports consumption is changing, and fans are no longer just watching on traditional platforms.
The international soccer tournament looks to generate subscription spikes, ad revenue surges, and record streaming engagement. It will drive social media clips that may reach more people than full matches. And it will reinforce a growing reality in sports media that fans no longer follow games in one place or in one format.
So far, the tournament has already demolished viewership records, according to Nielsen data.
Across FOX platforms, the Mexico-South Africa opener averaged 6.3 million viewers, setting the record for the most-watched English-language opening World Cup match in history. For the Spanish-language broadcast, the match recorded 12.1 million viewers, becoming the most-watched opening match regardless of language.
Mexico wasn’t the only host nation with a record-setting matchup. The USMNT-Paraguay match averaged nearly 25 million viewers across FOX and Telemundo platforms combined. It was the most‑watched USMNT World Cup telecast ever and the most‑watched English‑language Group Stage match in U.S. history, with a peak audience of 18.86 million.
On the streaming side, Tubi delivered its highest-ever average minute audience (AMA) for an English-language USMNT match at 1.13 million. Telemundo platforms and Peacock added another 8.9 million viewers, making it the most‑watched USA World Cup match ever on Spanish‑language TV.
The numbers show that the 2026 World Cup is more than just a showcase of the world’s best soccer players. The tournament is showcasing the rapidly evolving ways Americans watch sports, and the real impact will happen off the pitch.
