On USA English- and Spanish-language broadcasts and internet streaming, almost 15.5 million people watched the United States’ 1-0 victory over Iran to give the Americans a spot in the World Cup knockout rounds.
The game, which began at 2 p.m. EST on Tuesday, attracted the most viewers ever for a World Cup match on Fox with 12,013,000 viewers, including 954,004 digital streams. This was an increase from the 511,822 streams for the Americans’ opening 1-1 draw with Wales on November 21 and the 521,715 streams for the American team’s 0-0 draw with England on Black Friday.
USA Vs. Iran By The Numbers
2.34 million people watched the Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo on Tuesday, and an additional 1.12 million people watched it online on Peacock and Telemundo digital.
The three American group stage games averaged 11.7 million viewers, a 10% increase from the trio of games on ESPN in 2014, when that number was 10,622,000.
20.6 million people watched the Black Friday match between the United States and England on broadcast and digital media.Nielsen reports that 18,730,350 people watched the game on English- and Spanish-language U.S. televisions, making it the second-most watched U.S. World Cup event since 1994. The game against Portugal, which drew 2-2, received 19,757,173 viewers. Additionally, it was the fourth-most viewed men’s World Cup match since 1994, regardless of the team.
The U.S. men’s World Cup game on Black Friday attracted 15,490,597 viewers, the highest number for an English-language broadcast since 1994.
Additionally, 521,715 people watched the game on Fox in English and 1.27 million people watched it in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock.
11.7 million people watched the United States’ opening 1-1 tie with Wales on November 21.
The NBCUniversal divisions Peacock and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp.
Since the 1990s, soccer has been steadily gaining popularity in the United States. The sport’s popularity has increased most lately as a result of worries about safety in other sports. In particular, American Football has seen a decline in participation as a result of ongoing worries about head and brain injuries.