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The 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina set a new US TV record with 61.5 million viewers on Telemundo and Peacock, but those numbers still fell short of the NFL's reach to Americans.
While the World Cup final took place at the NFL's modern MetLife Stadium, its numbers didn't come close to the viewership of last February's Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
FOX Sports reported an average of 38.9 million viewers across its channels for the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast in US television history.
Meanwhile, ESPN continues to ruthlessly cut its top football talent after aquiring NFL Network.
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The Spain vs. Argentina final pulled in 61.5 million US viewers total across streaming platforms to set a new record for soccer on American television. The match also served as the final World Cup apperanace of Lionel Messi.
The World Cup final outmatched the previous record-holding USMNT's 4-1 loss to Belgium that featured suspended red card drama and Belgium's top stars mocking Team USA and President Donald Trump's signature dance during locker room celebrations.
February's Super Bowl matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots drew 125.6 million viewers and peaked at 137.8 million spectators during the second quarter.
The spike occured just as six-time Grammy Award winning Latin artist Bad Bunny hit the stage for the most-watched haltime show in the history of NBC. The performance featured cameos from A-listers Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Cardi B, and more.
The performance also generated over 4 billion social impressions during its first 24 hours despite converstive efforts to thwart the numbers with an alternate halftime show that fell in comparison. The Super Bowl was broadcast on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, and NFL+. While the World Cup final reached roughly half that audience in the US, it achieved significantly higher global viewership.
Reports estimate that the 2026 World Cup final attracted between 1.6 and 1.8 billion viewers worldwide and Variety suggsted that the United States, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, and and France made up for the five largest viewing markets.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the expanded 48-team tournament generated over $15 billion in revenue, making it the most lucrative World Cup to date.
The FIFA final was broadcast on the BBC in the UK, beIN Sports in France, Magenta TV in Germany, DAZN in Italy and Spain, as well as other major networks worldwide.
Super Bowl LX reportedly reached over 180 million viewers, with broadcasts in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Japan, India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa through ESPN.
