FOX Sports and Telemundo Deportes averaged a combined 4.9 million viewers for the final round of the Group Stage, up 24% from the first round of matches and up 7.5% from the second round. Viewership for the third games in the Group Stage peaked for Mexico’s match against Sweden with FOX and Telemundo combining for 6.565 million viewers, a 40% decrease from Mexico’s victory over Korea.
World Cup viewership saw a massive 71.5% increase for the Round of 16 when compared to the Group Stage. Round of 16 matches averaged nearly 7.5 million viewers compared to 4.3 million average viewers for the entire Group Stage.
Portugal and Ronaldo’s exit from the tournament on June 30 proved to be the most-watched match of the round with 9.689 million viewers, beating Mexico’s match against Brazil by over 500,000 viewers.
FOX’s FIFA World Cup lead-ins to Major League Soccer broadcasts continue to pay off as Saturday’s Cascadia Cup clash following Uruguay’s victory over Portugal drew a season-high 1.159 million viewers. The following day, Toronto FC’s match against the New York Red Bulls drew 1.1 million viewers making it three consecutive MLS broadcasts to break the one million viewer mark.
Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for June 25-July 3, 2018:
| Rank | Date | Competition | Teams | TV1 | TV2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6/30/18 | World Cup | Uruguay / Portugal | FOX; 5879000 | Telemundo; 3810000 | 9,689,000 |
| 2 | 7/2/18 | World Cup | Brazil / Mexico | FS1; 4181000 | Telemundo; 4960000 | 9,141,000 |
| 3 | 7/1/18 | World Cup | Croatia / Denmark | FOX; 5912000 | Telemundo; 3110000 | 9,022,000 |
| 4 | 7/1/18 | World Cup | Spain / Russia | FOX; 5118000 | Telemundo; 3530000 | 8,648,000 |
| 5 | 6/30/18 | World Cup | France / Argentina | FOX; 4693000 | Telemundo; 3510000 | 8,203,000 |
| 6 | 7/3/18 | World Cup | England / Colombia | FOX; 4375000 | Telemundo; 2740000 | 7,115,000 |
| 7 | 6/27/18 | World Cup | Mexico / Sweden | FOX; 2165000 | Telemundo; 4400000 | 6,565,000 |
| 8 | 7/2/18 | World Cup | Belgium / Japan | FOX; 3499000 | Telemundo; 1610000 | 5,109,000 |
| 9 | 6/26/18 | World Cup | Nigeria / Argentina | FOX; 2613000 | Telemundo; 2390000 | 5,003,000 |
| 10 | 6/27/18 | World Cup | Serbia / Brazil | FOX; 2320000 | Telemundo; 2120000 | 4,440,000 |
| 11 | 6/25/18 | World Cup | Iran / Portugal | FOX; 2200000 | Telemundo; 1670000 | 3,870,000 |
| 12 | 6/28/18 | World Cup | Senegal / Colombia | FOX; 1900000 | Telemundo; 1890000 | 3,790,000 |
| 13 | 6/28/18 | World Cup | England / Belgium | FOX; 2400000 | Telemundo; 1360000 | 3,760,000 |
| 14 | 6/25/18 | World Cup | Uruguay / Russia | FOX; 1600000 | Telemundo; 1670000 | 3,270,000 |
| 15 | 7/3/18 | World Cup | Sweden / Switzerland | FS1; 1691000 | Telemundo; 1280000 | 2,971,000 |
| 16 | 6/26/18 | World Cup | Australia / Peru | FS1; 376000 | Telemundo; 1500000 | 1,876,000 |
| 17 | 6/26/18 | World Cup | Denmark / France | FOX; 1700000 | Unvso; 81000 | 1,781,000 |
| 18 | 6/27/18 | World Cup | Korea / Germany | FS1; 1020000 | Unvso; 151000 | 1,171,000 |
| 19 | 6/30/18 | MLS | Seattle Sounders / Portland Timbers | FOX; 1159000 | FOXD; — | 1,159,000 |
| 20 | 7/1/18 | MLS | Toronto FC / New York Red Bulls | FOX; 1109000 | FOXD; — | 1,109,000 |
| 21 | 6/25/18 | World Cup | Spain / Morocco | FS1; 879000 | Unvso; 153000 | 1,032,000 |
| 22 | 6/27/18 | World Cup | Switzerland / Costa Rica | FS1; 571000 | Unvso; 109000 | 680,000 |
| 23 | 6/26/18 | World Cup | Iceland / Croatia | FS1; 562000 | Unvso; 41000 | 603,000 |
| 24 | 6/28/18 | World Cup | Japan / Poland | FS1; 422000 | Unvso; 29000 | 451,000 |
| 25 | 6/28/18 | World Cup | Panama / Tunisia | FS1; 314000 | Unvso; 89000 | 403,000 |
| 26 | 6/25/18 | World Cup | Saudi Arabia / Egypt | FS1; 301000 | Unvso; 38000 | 339,000 |
| 27 | 6/30/18 | MLS | Atlanta United / Orlando City SC | ESPN; 285000 | ESPND; — | 285,000 |
| 28 | 6/30/18 | MLS | San Jose Earthquakes / LA Galaxy | UniMás/UDN; 276000 | —; — | 276,000 |
