2023 Women's World Cup Final on FOX breaks a US TV record

The Women’s World Cup Final between Spain and England on FOX broke a specific record for American viewership. This was the first Women’s World Cup Final not to feature the USWNT since 2007. Therefore, viewership compared to the 2019 Final was down. That game, where the USWNT defeated the Netherlands, pulled in 14.2 million viewers.

FOX announced 1,658,000 people watched the Women’s World Cup on FOX. This is a huge dip compared to the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Regardless, this makes it the most-watched non-USWNT Women’s World Cup Final of all time. It is up 150% compared to the previous World Cup Final from 2007 that the USWNT did not play in. Both the 2007 and 2019 Finals happened at less-than-stellar times for American audiences, too. The Women’s World Cup Final this past weekend kicked off at 6 in the morning.

The match peaked in audience between 7:45 and 8, which was just around the end of the game. At that time, there were 2,446,000 viewers. This is a strong audience given the weak kickoff times for American audiences. For reference, audiences on the west coast would be watching the end of the game around 5 a.m. their time. This was a common theme throughout the tournament. The USWNT game against Portugal had an overnight kickoff. It was the best audience FOX has ever had for that time slot.

The top markets for FOX’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup Final were similar to the rest of the tournament. Washington, D.C., led the way. Then, Austin, San Diego, Hartford and Boston all had ratings of 1.5 or above.

A good record for FOX coverage of Women’s World Cup Final

Even if FOX would have done better with the USWNT making a deeper run in the competition, having widespread interest in nations outside the United States is a good sign. Perhaps it shows the general audience for the women’s game is growing.

Regardless, kickoff times should not be an issue for the next Women’s World Cup in 2027. The United States has a combined bid with Mexico to host that competition. It is one of four bids for the tournament.

PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire