The US men's national team’s dramatic World Cup win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday drew a record television audience, according to preliminary reports from Fox Sports and Telemundo. Fox reported an average of 24.429 million English-language viewers, with a peak of 31.883 million, while Telemundo added 9.1 million Spanish-language viewers over the total game window. The combined 33.5 million viewers make it the most-watched soccer broadcast in US history.
The record outpaced the average viewership of the NBA Finals and Sunday Night Football, underscoring soccer's growing mainstream appeal in the United States. The matchup's high stakes and dramatic finish fueled broad audience engagement, with Fox calling it the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast ever. Monday’s last-16 game is expected to challenge the new benchmark.
Preliminary data from Fox and Telemundo shows that Spanish-language viewership contributed significantly to the total, reflecting the sport's deep reach among Latino audiences. The split between English- and Spanish-language broadcasts highlights the fragmented but expanding soccer viewership landscape in the US.
While the numbers are preliminary, they suggest a surge in interest ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the US will co-host. The previous record for a soccer broadcast in the US was set during the 2022 men’s World Cup final, drawing approximately 16 million English-language viewers. Wednesday’s figures nearly double that, signaling a shift in sports consumption habits.