2026 World Cup semifinals set Spanish language viewership record
· Yahoo Sports
Not only were the 2026 World Cup semifinals the most-watched in English language telecast history, the matches where Argentina outlasted England and Spain neutralized France were the most-watched World Cup semifinals in Spanish language broadcast history, too.
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NBC Universal released its official numbers for the two broadcasts on Friday, July 17 and revealed that Lionel Messi and Argentina's 2-1 handling of the Three Lions had a total audience of 11.4 million fans on Telemundo and its streaming partner, Peacock. This made the match the most-watched Spanish language World Cup semifinal ever.
The broadcast was up 139% over Messi's semifinals match in the 2022 World Cup, where Argentina beat Croatia 3-0. That program had an audience of 6.2 million fans on the average minute. La Albiceleste advanced to the final, where they overcame France in penalty kicks for Messi's first title.
Argentina vs. England was watched in English on FOX by an average of 15.063 million fans, according to the broadcast company, with a peak viewership of 22.177 million. This was the largest audience for a World Cup semifinals English language telecast in United States broadcast history.
The other semifinals match, where Spain defeated France 2-0, saw a total audience of 9.8 million fans on Telemundo and Peacock. It was watched by 11.462 million fans on FOX.
The average audience between the two matches on Telemundo and Peacock was 10.6 million viewers, up 136% from the 2022 semifinals, which had an average of 4.5 million fans watching.
With the third-place match between France and England and the final where Argentina takes on Spain still to play, an average of 6 million fans have tuned into Telemundo and its associated properties each match of this World Cup. This is a boost of 147% compared to the 2022 World Cup through the semifinals, which saw an average total audience of 2.4 million fans per match.
There was an expanded field of 48 teams in this World Cup, which created a tournament with a record 104 matches.
Telemundo also made history in February for the most-watched Spanish language Super Bowl halftime show ever. An average of 4.8 million fans tuned in to watch Bad Bunny perform a medley of hits with Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin as he paid tribute to his native Puerto Rico.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 World Cup semifinals set Spanish language viewership record