The first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup has concluded with Telemundo just slightly edging out FOX Sports in viewership. Telemundo averaged 1.968 million viewers through the first 16 matches of the tournament while FOX averaged 1.963 million viewers across the FOX broadcast network and FOX Sports 1. So far, TV viewership from the U.S. has dropped about 44% compared with the last tournament in 2014, according to data from Nielsen.
Telemundo is in more than 53 million homes in the United States. FOX Sports, who have been broadcasting games on the over-the-air FOX network and FS1, are in 116 million homes (FOX) and 84 million homes (FS1) respectively.
Sunday’s FOX Sports 1 triple header delivered the network their two most-watched men’s soccer games ever with both surpassing four million viewers.
Mexico’s 1-0 victory over Germany drew an additional 7.12 million viewers to Telemundo, making it the most-watched Mexico Group Stage World Cup Game ever on any network and Telemundo’s most-watched sporting event in history.
Total television viewership reached its highest point thus far on Sunday for Mexico’s match against defending champions Germany with 11.12 million tuning in on FOX Sports 1 and Telemundo. Viewership hit its lowest point just a day earlier with only 1.286 million watching Australia take on France also on FOX Sports 1 and Telemundo.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for June 2-19, 2018:
Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6/17/18 | World Cup | Germany / Mexico | FS1; 4,002,000 | Telemundo; 7,120,000 | 11,122,000 |
2 | 6/17/18 | World Cup | Brazil / Switzerland | FS1; 4,086,000 | Telemundo; 4,350,000 | 8,436,000 |
3 | 6/16/18 | World Cup | Argentina / Iceland | FOX; 2,973,000 | Telemundo; 2,210,000 | 5,183,000 |
4 | 6/15/18 | World Cup | Portugal / Spain | FOX; 2,924,000 | Telemundo; 1,840,000 | 4,764,000 |
5 | 6/16/18 | World Cup | Peru / Denmark | FS1; 2,001,000 | Telemundo; 2,450,000 | 4,451,000 |
6 | 6/16/18 | World Cup | Croatia / Nigeria | FS1; 2,178,000 | Telemundo; 1,930,000 | 4,108,000 |
7 | 6/17/18 | World Cup | Costa Rica / Serbia | FOX; 1,826,000 | Telemundo; 1,660,000 | 3,486,000 |
8 | 6/18/18 | World Cup | Tunisia / England | FS1; 1,931,000 | Telemundo; 1,430,000 | 3,361,000 |
9 | 6/19/18 | World Cup | Russia / Egypt | FOX; 1,957,000 | Telemundo; 1,260,000 | 3,217,000 |
10 | 6/14/18 | World Cup | Russia / Saudi Arabia | FOX; 1,678,000 | Telemundo; 1,370,000 | 3,048,000 |
11 | 6/18/18 | World Cup | Belgium / Panama | FS1; 1,364,000 | Telemundo; 1,600,000 | 2,964,000 |
12 | 6/19/18 | World Cup | Poland / Senegal | FOX; 1,647,000 | Telemundo; 1,200,000 | 2,847,000 |
13 | 6/19/18 | World Cup | Colombia / Japan | FS1; 953,000 | Telemundo; 1,520,000 | 2,473,000 |
14 | 6/15/18 | World Cup | Morocco / Iran | FOX; 1,518,000 | Telemundo; 949000 | 2,467,000 |
15 | 6/15/18 | World Cup | Egypt / Uruguay | FS1; 782,000 | Telemundo; 1,190,000 | 1,972,000 |
16 | 6/18/18 | World Cup | Sweden / Korea | FS1; 750,000 | Telemundo; 746,000 | 1,496,000 |
17 | 6/2/18 | Int’l Friendly | Mexico / Scotland | FS1; — | Univision; 1,777,000 | 1,777,000 |
18 | 6/16/18 | World Cup | France / Australia | FS1; 796,000 | Telemundo; 490,000 | 1,286,000 |
19 | 6/9/18 | Int’l Friendly | Denmark / Mexico | Univision; 734,000 | UDN; 470,000 | 1,204,000 |
20 | 6/9/18 | Int’l Friendly | France / USMNT | ESPN; 697,000 | UniMás; 395000 | 1,092,000 |
21 | 6/2/18 | Int’l Friendly | Ireland / USMNT | ESPN2; 453,000 | UniMás; 303,000 | 756,000 |
22 | 6/7/18 | Int’l Friendly (W) | USWNT / China | FS1; 247,000 | UDN; 72000 | 319,000 |
23 | 6/9/18 | MLS | Columbus Crew / New York Red Bulls | ESPN; 292,000 | ESPND; — | 292,000 |
24 | 6/2/18 | MLS | Portland Timbers / LA Galaxy | ESPN2; 272,000 | ESPND; — | 272,000 |
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