Most-watched World Cup 2022 games on US TV and streaming

The World Cup is always one of the top TV draws in the US, and 2022 is no different. Group stage matchups featuring the big teams and stars are among the most-watched World Cup 2022 games thru the round of 16.

Most-watched World Cup games so far

Four of the top six most-watched games in this year’s World Cup featured the United States. Anticipation for the USA’s return to the World Cup was certainly high after the USMNT failed to qualify for Russia in 2018, and the numbers back that up. Of course, these games tend to draw in the casual American viewer who may normally not follow soccer, but will tune in to watch the USA.

The USA fills the top four spots in English across FOX and FS1, with the biggest of the bunch was the Black Friday showdown between the US and England. The game averaged a combined total of over 20,000,000 viewers in English and Spanish. Over 15 million of those viewers were in English alone, which would be enough to place it as the third-biggest draw overall.

Argentina-Mexico a record setter

On the Spanish language side, Telemundo/Peacock pulled in big numbers. The top game in Spanish was, predictably, Messi and Argentina vs. arguably the most popular sports team in the USA… El Tri. An average of 9 million viewers tuned in to ARG-MEX, making it the most-watched Spanish language group stage match in history. Over 2 million of those viewers streamed the match, making it the most-streamed World Cup match in US history – regardless of of language. The total Spanish viewership for 2022 so far ranks second out of the past eight World Cups, behind only 2014 in Brazil which featured better time slots for viewers in the US.

Mexico’s 0-0 group stage draw with Poland rounded out the top 5 on Telemundo/Peacock with 4.6 million viewers, with Brazil, Spain, and the USA also featuring at the top of the Spanish language rankings.

Impressive World Cup numbers

The overall figures are somewhat a mix of the top of the English and Spanish rankings, and similarly focus on the major teams and star players. The USA leads the way with four appearances in the top ten, with Mexico and Argentina featuring in two matches each. Powerhouse sides Brazil, Germany, Spain, and Portugal round out the notables appearing in the top ten.

We can surely expect to continue to see high viewership numbers across both FOX and Telemundo as the tournament winds down, with the quarterfinals starting up on December 9.