The overtime World Cup final drew 16.78 million viewers on Fox Sunday, the most-watched World Cup telecast in English-language television history.
The previous World Cup finals telecast record was set in 1994 when Italy beat Brazil.
The Fox telecast topped the previous record of 15.5 million people tuning in to watch the United States tie England earlier in the tournament.
The Spanish-language telecast on Telemundo and Peacock drew a total audience of 9 million viewers, making it the most-watched and most-streamed match of the tournament. Viewing was up 65% from the 2019 final.
The final match was the most-streamed soccer match in U.S. media history regardless of language, with an average per-minute audience of 3 million viewers, Telemundo said.
"Telemundo’s coverage of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with NBCUniversal’s partnership across all platforms culminated as one of the most exciting and successful World Cups in history," said Beau Ferrari, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.
"Years of preparation led to record-breaking viewership and revenue across the Telemundo network, local stations and Peacock. This World Cup represents a historic outcome for our entire company," Ferrari said. "Now, the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is upon us, and we look forward to being the home of the World Cup, 'La Casa del Mundial' in 2026, when the tournament comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada." ■
