SerpApi.Org
NBC Sports delivered its most-watched final round of The Open Championship since 2022 last weekend, despite competing against FOX's World Cup final coverage.
While last weekend saw the curtain fall on the World Cup, with Ferran Torres sealing a 1-0 extra-time win for Spain against Argentina in what was an ugly final at MetLife Stadium, it was also the same day New Zealand's Ryan Fox won his maiden major title after draining a birdie putt on the 18th at Royal Birkdale to win the 154th Open Championship.
Surprisingly, Sunday's action from Southport delivered the most-watched final round of the Open Championship since 2022, with NBC's coverage averaging 4.3 million viewers across the network and its streaming service Peacock. It comes as FOX's World Cup final coverage was almost derailed by travel chaos.
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NBC's coverage also peaked at 6.1 million viewers, with Saturday's viewership also the most-watched third round of the Open Championship since 2018.
The 4.3 million viewers average on Sunday was up 6% from last year's final round, which saw World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler claim victory at Royal Portrush.
Meanwhile, Saturday's coverage from Southport averaged 3.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched third round since 2018, and up 16% from last year's 3.2 million.
However, while the final day of the Open Championship fell on the same day at the World Cup final, the coverage of the last major of 2026 was over before the clash between Argentina and Spain got underway in New Jersey.
FOX's coverage of the World Cup final also saw the network broadcast what was the "most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history."
Per the network, which bought the English-language rights to the tournament for $485 million, an average of 38,937,000 viewers tuned in to watch FOX's coverage of the World Cup final, with viewership peaking at 51,685,000 from 5:45 to 6 pm ET.
It was the most-watched non-NFL telecast on any network since 2016, beating out FOX's coverage of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series (40.050 million) between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians.
The huge viewership numbers were also a 132% increase on the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar between Argentina and France, which averaged just shy of 16.7 million.
According to a breakdown by Awful Announcing, FOX averaged 7.74 million viewers per match across FOX, FS1 and Tubi during the 2026 World Cup, a figure that well exceeded its averages of 3.58 million in 2022 and 2.77 million viewers in 2018.
Additionally, there were 9 matches during the 2026 World Cup, surpassing the viewership of the 2022 final.
Speaking following Sunday's final about the overall viewership of the World Cup, both at home and in stadiums, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said, "We have had a record number of spectators in the stadiums, almost 7 million.
"We will have had, I mean the official figures will come out soon, but probably over 6 billion people watching it from home."
