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FOX Sports Sets Record for 2026 World Cup Opening Match
Viewership for the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup averaged 6.309 million viewers across FOX, FS1, and Tubi. The match between Mexico and South Africa peaked at 8.014 million viewers.
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Viewership for the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup averaged 6.309 million viewers across FOX, FS1, and Tubi. The match between Mexico and South Africa peaked at 8.014 million viewers from 4:15-4:30 pm ET. The figure marked a 97% increase from the 3.21 million average for the comparable 2022 group-stage match on FOX.
The opening match became the most-streamed English-language group-stage telecast in FIFA World Cup history. FOX Sports holds rights to broadcast 104 matches of the 2026 tournament. Seventy of those matches will air on FOX, more than double the number carried on the network in 2022, with the remainder on FS1 and Tubi.
All matches will also stream live and on demand through the FOX One and FOX Sports apps. Group-stage matches continue on Friday.
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