The 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia averaged 17.2 million viewers across the FOX network and Telemundo combined including online viewership.
Not reflected in the viewing number is the out-of-home viewership, which included huge numbers that watched the game in bars, restaurants and public watch parties across the United States.
TV numbers alone, the France-Croatia final averaged 16.6 million viewers. While not an apples to apples comparison, the 2014 World Cup Final averaged 26.5 million viewers, but that game featured powerhouses Germany and Argentina who generate a lot more interest in the United States than France and Croatia.
Overall on television, the 2018 FIFA World Cup on the FOX and Telemundo networks averaged 4.6 million viewers per game. Compared to the previous tournaments, the 2014 World Cup averaged approximately 8.1 million viewers combined on the ESPN and Univision networks.
For the 2018 tournament that featured 64 games, Telemundo averaged 2.02 million viewers per game compared to an average of 2.63 million on FOX. It’s worth noting that Telemundo has a much smaller footprint. 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. Plus, while Telemundo’s overall numbers are lower than FOX, Hispanics make up 18% of the U.S. population, and yet Telemundo Deportes makes up 41% of the average World Cup viewership (average split for all games through Final (1.9 million vs 2.8 million).
SEE MORE: Telemundo’s World Cup coverage reached 36 million TV viewers
According to Nielsen Media Research, the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ on FOX/FS1 produced the following U.S. television marks:
• The highest Household Delivery for any Semifinal since at least 1990: Croatia-England – 4,153,000 – Saturday, July 14
• The most-watched Quarterfinal on record: Croatia-Russia – 6,386,000 viewers on FOX, Saturday, July 7
• The most-watched Quarterfinals day on record – Saturday, July 7
• The most-watched weekday non-U.S. Round of 16 match on record: Croatia vs. Denmark – 5,966,000 on FOX, Sunday, July 1
• The most-watched non-U.S. Group Stage match on record on English language television: Germany vs. Sweden – 5,452,000 on FOX, Saturday, June 23.
France’s dominant 4-2 victory over Croatia averaged 11,824,000 viewers across FOX and streaming sources. On Telemundo, the final posted a Total Audience Delivery average of 5.45 million across Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com, and the Telemundo En Vivo and NBC Sports apps.
Here’s the total TV viewership for the 2018 FIFA World Cup:
| DATE & KICKOFF TIME | GAME | TELEMUNDO | FOX SPORTS | TOTAL | FOX OR FS1 | TEL OR UNI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurs., June 14; 11am ET | Russia-Saudi Arabia | 1,370,000 | 1,494,000 | 2,864,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Fri., June 15, 8am ET | Egypt-Uruguay | 1,190,000 | 903,000 | 2,093,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Fri., June 15, 11am ET | Morocco-Iran | 949,000 | 1,695,000 | 2,644,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Fri., June 15, 2pm ET | Portugal-Spain | 1,840,000 | 2,924,000 | 4,764,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 16, 6am ET | France-Australia | 490,000 | 796,000 | 1,286,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 16, 9am ET | Argentina-Iceland | 2,210,000 | 2,973,000 | 5,183,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 16, Noon ET | Peru-Denmark | 2,450,000 | 2,001,000 | 4,451,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 16, 3pm ET | Croatia-Nigeria | 1,930,000 | 2,178,000 | 4,108,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Sun., June 17, 8am ET | Costa Rica-Serbia | 1,660,000 | 1,826,000 | 1,660,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sun., June 17, 11am ET | Mexico-Germany | 7,120,000 | 4,002,000 | 11,122,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Sun., June 17, 2pm ET | Brazil-Switzerland | 4,350,000 | 4,147,000 | 8,497,000 | FS1 | Telemundo & NBCSN |
| Mon., June 18, 8am ET | Korea-Sweden | 746,000 | 750,000 | 1,496,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Mon. June 18, 11am ET | Belgium-Panama | 1,600,000 | 1,364,000 | 2,964,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Mon., June 18, 2pm ET | England-Tunisia | 1,430,000 | 1,931,000 | 3,361,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Tues., June 19, 8am ET | Colombia-Japan | 1,520,000 | 953,000 | 2,473,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Tues., June 19, 11am ET | Poland-Senegal | 1,200,000 | 1,647,000 | 2,847,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Tues., June 19, 2pm ET | Russia-Egypt | 1,260,000 | 1,957,000 | 3,217,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Weds., June 20, 8am ET | Portugal-Morocco | 1,270,000 | 1,082,000 | 2,352,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Weds., June 20, 11am ET | Uruguay-Saudi Arabia | 1,390,000 | 1,560,000 | 2,950,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Weds., June 20, 2pm ET | Iran-Spain | 1,630,000 | 2,240,000 | 3,870,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Thurs., June 21, 8am ET | Denmark-Australia | 913,000 | 854,000 | 1,767,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Thurs., June 21, 11am ET | Peru-France | 1,950,000 | 1,930,000 | 3,880,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Thurs., June 21, 2pm ET | Argentina-Croatia | 2,030,000 | 2,560,000 | 4,590,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Fri., June 22, 8am ET | Brazil-Costa Rica | 1,560,000 | 1,215,000 | 2,775,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Fri., June 22, 11am ET | Nigeria-Iceland | 1,340,000 | 2,240,000 | 3,580,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Fri., June 22, 2pm ET | Serbia-Switzerland | 1,410,000 | 2,310,000 | 3,720,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 23, 8am ET | Belgium-Tunisia | 1,270,000 | 1,861,000 | 3,131,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 23, 11am ET | Korea-Mexico | 6,600,000 | 4,433,000 | 11,033,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 23, 2pm ET | Germany-Sweden | 3,430,000 | 5,397,000 | 8,827,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sun., June 24, 8am ET | England-Panama | 1,510,000 | 1,623,000 | 3,133,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Sun., June 24, 11am ET | Japan-Senegal | 2,380,000 | 3,505,000 | 5,885,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sun., June 24, 2pm ET | Poland-Colombia | 3,540,000 | 4,384,000 | 7,924,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Mon., June 25, 10am ET | Uruguay-Russia | 1,670,000 | 1,600,000 | 3,270,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Mon., June 25, 10am ET | Egypt-Saudi Arabia | 38,000 | 301,000 | 339,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Mon., June 25, 2pm ET | Iran-Portugal | 1,670,000 | 2,200,000 | 3,870,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Mon., June 25, 2pm ET | Spain-Morocco | 153,000 | 879,000 | 1,032,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Tues., June 26, 10am ET | Denmark-France | 81,000 | 1,700,000 | 1,781,000 | FOX | Universo |
| Tues., June 26, 10am ET | Australia-Peru | 1,500,000 | 376,000 | 1,876,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Tues., June 26, 2pm ET | Nigeria-Argentina | 2,390,000 | 2,613,000 | 5,003,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Tues., June 26, 2pm ET | Croatia-Iceland | 41,000 | 562,000 | 603,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Weds., June 27, 10am ET | Mexico-Sweden | 4,420,000 | 2,165,000 | 6,585,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Weds., June 27, 10am ET | Korea-Germany | 151,000 | 1,020,000 | 1,171,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Weds., June 27, 2pm ET | Serbia-Brazil | 2,120,000 | 2,300,000 | 4,420,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Weds., June 27, 2pm ET | Switzerland-Costa Rica | 109,000 | 571,000 | 680,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Thurs., June 28, 10am ET | Senegal-Colombia | 1,890,000 | 1,900,000 | 3,790,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Thurs., June 28, 10am ET | Japan-Poland | 29,000 | 422,000 | 451,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Thurs., June 28, 2pm ET | England-Belgium | 1,360,000 | 2,400,000 | 3,760,000 | FOX | Telemundo & NBCSN |
| Thurs., June 28, 2pm ET | Panama-Tunisia | 89,000 | 314,000 | 403,000 | FS1 | Universo |
| Sat., June 30, 10am ET | France-Argentina | 3,510,000 | 4,690,000 | 8,200,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., June 30, 2pm ET | Uruguay-Portugal | 3,810,000 | 5,879,000 | 9,689,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sun., July 1, 10am ET | Spain-Russia | 3,530,000 | 5,116,000 | 8,646,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sun., July 1, 2pm ET | Croatia-Denmark | 3,110,000 | 5,912,000 | 9,022,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Mon. July 2, 10am ET | Brazil-Mexico | 4,960,000 | 4,181,000 | 9,141,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Mon., July 2, 2pm ET | Belgium-Japan | 1,610,000 | 3,499,000 | 5,109,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Tues., July 3, 10am ET | Sweden-Switzerland | 1,280,000 | 1,691,000 | 2,971,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Tues., July 3, 2pm ET | Colombia-England | 2,940,000 | 4,375,000 | 7,315,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Fri., July 6, 10am ET | France-Uruguay | 2,080,000 | 2,548,000 | 4,628,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Fri., July 6, 2pm ET | Brazil-Belgium | 2,900,000 | 3,519,000 | 6,419,000 | FS1 | Telemundo |
| Sat., July 7, 10am ET | Sweden-England | 1,940,000 | 4,763,000 | 6,703,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., July 7, 2pm ET | Russia-Croatia | 2,800,000 | 6,317,000 | 9,117,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Tues., July 10, 2pm ET | France-Belgium | 2,320,000 | 4,400,000 | 6,720,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Weds., July 11, 2pm ET | England-Croatia | 2,750,000 | 5,504,000 | 8,254,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sat., July 14, 10am ET | Belgium-England | 1,570,000 | 3,000,000 | 4,570,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| Sun., July 15, 11am ET | France-Croatia | 5,320,000 | 11,300,000 | 16,620,000 | FOX | Telemundo |
| AVERAGE | 2,026,234 | 2,636,750 | 4,634,453 | |||
| TOTALS | 131,705,234 | 171,388,750 | 301,239,453 |
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