Telemundo smashes records for Women's Cup World viewership

Telemundo broke its records during the 2023 Women’s World Cup when it comes to viewership. Moreover, these records extended throughout the tournament. Despite the USWNT’s early exit and CONCACAF not reaching far in the competition, the audience in the United States was still actively watching the tournament.

In the 2023 Women’s World Cup, certain contests did prop up the viewership on Telemundo. Specifically, the USWNT’s group-stage game against the Netherlands set Telemundo’s record for the most-watched Women’s World Cup group-stage game. Furthermore, it ranks second in terms of viewership all-time at the Women’s World Cup. The only game it trails is the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final between the same two teams.

The Women’s World Cup Final, where Spain beat England, was the most-watched non-prime time match of the tournament. With the game kicking off at 6 a.m. ET, 401,000 viewers tuned into the final. That is across all platforms from the provider.

Overall, the Women’s World Cup had a total audience delivery (TAD) of 167,000 per game. This means that each game averaged a viewership of 167,000 across all of Telemundo’s platforms. Recall that the Women’s World Cup was available via streaming on Peacock. This figure includes the Peacock users and those watching on Telemundo and Universo. This is down compared to the Women’s World Cup in France. However, Telemundo attributes that to the time changes. Comparatively, viewership is up versus the last time a Women’s World Cup was in similar time zones. That was in China in 2007.

USWNT, Peacock drive Telemundo Women’s World Cup audiences

There were some highlights from non-USWNT games in terms of viewership. For example, the quarterfinal tie between Spain and the Netherlands pulled in a TAD of 968,000. That is the most-watched non-USA match in Women’s World Cup history on Spanish-language TV. Then, England’s quarterfinal tie win over Colombia was a 130% increase in viewership compared to England’s game against Norway in the same stage in 2019.

Still, the USWNT was the big draw. The two most-watched games on Telemundo came from the USWNT. The aforementioned game against the Netherlands was at the top of the list by some margin. Then, the USWNT’s first game against Vietnam pulled in an impressive 1 million viewers. The USWNT’s viewership in the group stage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup was the most ever on Spanish-language TV. Despite the time struggles for the Portugal game, the average TAD increased by 57% compared to 2019. For reference, 2023’s TAD was 911,000, while 2019 pulled in a TAD of 579,000.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Xinhua