The United States’ 0-0 draw with England in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup drew another ridiculous audience.
19.977 million viewers watched the match on Friday across Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock, per releases from Fox and Telemundo.
🚨 RECORD ALERT 🚨
Friday’s @USMNT – England #FIFAWorldCup match draws 15,377,000 viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched men's soccer match EVER on U.S. television, up +6% from the previous high of 14,510,000 (Italy vs. Brazil Final, 1994). #USAvENG pic.twitter.com/r0gNcuP5Fj
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) November 26, 2022
❗️Ratings: ENG vs. USA is the second-most watched USA group stage match in Spanish-language history!
Through 6 days, the World Cup is averaging a TAD of 2.4 million viewers for 20 games. Up 14% vs. the 2018 tournament.
✔️Details: https://t.co/8NriKZwuE1#MundialTelemundo pic.twitter.com/lQMLIJm2Bt
— NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises (@NBCUTelemundo) November 26, 2022
(this is your obligatory reminder that Nielsen’s out of home numbers are baked into this World Cup for the first time ever)
The notes from Telemundo’s release are interesting. The US-England match was the second most-watched game of the tournament so far, behind just Brazil-Serbia on Thursday. It was also the third most-streamed match of this year’s tournament with an average minute audience of 1.27 million, behind Mexico-Poland on Tuesday and Brazil-Serbia.
In case you’re confused about Fox’s claim about this being the “most-watched men’s soccer match ever on US television,” we’re apparently not dealing with an apples to apples comparison with previous highly-watched matches, and that “whistle to whistle” number should be available next week.
On Monday, the US played Wales and drew 1-1, with 11.71 million watching that match on Fox’s platforms, Telemundo, and Peacock.
The United States has one more group stage match, taking on Iran this Tuesday with a 2 PM ET kick time. A third draw will end the tournament for the US, with the team sitting in third place in Group B with two points, behind England on four and Iran on three. It’ll be tough to see that match surpassing Friday’s matchup with England due to the fact many people will be back at work instead of at home during a long holiday weekend.
However, if the US does advance out of the group and into the knockout stages, a date with the Netherlands, Ecuador, or Senegal could await in the Round of 16 could await next weekend. Fox is probably hoping the US advances as the runner-up, because then their next match would take place Saturday on Fox instead of Sunday on FS1, head to head with the NFL.
