Guys, I just saw the World Cup audience data and I'm blown away! Turns out the Argentina-Morocco final (yes, the final was against Morocco, and don't tell me it wasn't a scandal) has broken all viewership records in the United States and across the planet. On top of that, the group stage match between Mexico and Canada at the Azteca has surpassed the share of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics... A 48-team World Cup has multiplied the ratings!
I was totally tripping about the debate over whether the new format was chaos, but the numbers are right there: FIFA has billed more than $7.5 billion in TV rights, 30% more than Qatar 2022. And not only that: average audiences for group stage matches have risen 22% thanks to the local teams in three host countries. Even at 3:00 in the afternoon there were folks watching soccer in bars in Austin and Guadalajara!
The key data point: 400 million unique viewers watched Argentina-Morocco in the United States, beating the Super Bowl record (which stayed at 127 million). Mind you, this is what FIFA wants us to know, but there's debate over whether the World Cup streaming numbers use the same criteria as the NFL's.
Now, let's get out our calculators and compare real audiences that I've been collecting around:
Average audience (millions) in the final of the last World Cups
580
Brazil 2014
517
Russia 2018
522
Qatar 2022
740
USA/Can/Mex 2026 (final)
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018
Qatar 2022
USA/Can/Mex 2026 (final)
See that rise? 740 million average watching the final, with a peak of 1,200 million at halftime of the controversial extra-time goal. And mind you, the data isn't just about the final: Mexico's group stage matches have averaged 19 million viewers on Mexican open broadcast, even though they played at 1:00 PM local time due to the European schedule. Now, does that justify putting in 48 teams? I think the excitement of the knockout rounds has been diluted, and seeing Bhutan or San Marino (with all due respect) at a World Cup is a risky spectacle for competitiveness. But data rules!
Mind you: the audience increase isn't only due to the format, but to schedules favorable to Asia and the Americas. If UEFA managed to arrange schedules for Europe, the whole picture would change. FIFA has already warned that the next World Cup (2030) will have matches at 18:00 CEST so Europeans don't complain.
Here's a gallery of the best images of the ratings success (the CCTV data from the fan zones, not the TV one):
And now the question I want to ask you: are we facing the greatest sporting spectacle of the century or will the TV rights bubble burst when sponsors see that the public is bored of meaningless matches? Because it seems to me that UEFA is nervous and that the next Congress will be a war over the distribution of those 7.5 billion.
My personal bet: The 2026 World Cup will be remembered as the one that changed audiences forever, but the 48-team format will die in 2030 if UEFA manages to bring the tournament back to 32. The data today is dizzying, but the level of the group stage matches has been disappointing: too many 0-0 draws and little pace.
What do you think? Have you watched all the matches or have you ended up fed up with the format? I'm already watching the replays of Lamine Yamal's goals because I can't believe we've won the World Cup... Leave the controversy in the comments! 🔥⚽👇
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