The United States went head-to-head with England on Friday in a historic World Cup match that drew 15.4M viewers for Fox.
The game, which ended in a 0-0 draw, is now one of the most-watched men’s soccer match on U.S. television. The current record holder is still the USA’s 2-2 draw against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in 2014, which was watched by 24.7M people.
Friday’s match is by far the most-watched game of the 2022 World Cup so far in the U.S.
Another 4.6M tuned in via Telemundo Deportes’ Spanish-language coverage of the match on Telemundo, Peacock and digital platforms. That’s the second most-watched World Cup Group Stage Match featuring a U.S. team in Spanish-language history — up 33% for the U.S.’ first match against Wales.
It’s also Telemundo’s second-most watched game of the 2022 World Cup after the Brazil vs. Serbia Thanksgiving matchup.
Friday’s match benefitted from a 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. ET start time on a holiday, which set it up for some impressive viewership. It was already widely expected to be a record-setter, especially after both the U.S. and England managed decent viewership for their first matches.
On Monday, the U.S. vs. Wales match scored 12M across Fox and Telemundo, while England’s fiery 6-2 win over Iran was viewed by 1.6M total viewers in the U.S. across FS1 and digital platforms. That match began at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT, which explains at least in part why not too many U.S. viewers tuned in. On BBC, that match peaked with 8M U.K. viewers around lunchtime.