Overview
- Fox reported that the U.S. group match against Turkiye averaged about 15.9 million viewers with an 18.1 million peak for the June 25 broadcast, a preliminary figure the network supplied to media outlets.
- Fox has previously cited similar big audiences for U.S. games, including a roughly 14.7 million average for the Australia match and a cumulative 84.3 million unique viewers across Fox and FS1 through the group stage.
- Mike Mulvihill, Fox’s president of insights and analytics, projected that primetime knockout matches could top 30 million viewers and said a U.S. appearance in the July 19 final could reach roughly 50 million viewers, comments presented as his forecast.
- All current totals are preliminary and shaped by new measurement practices, with Fox combining linear and streaming counts and Nielsen incorporating Big Data+ and out‑of‑home viewing before final validated ratings are released.
- The spike in U.S. audiences is boosting commercial value for broadcasters because the tournament is being played partially on U.S. soil and in favorable time zones, a setup that has led industry estimates of up to $2 million for 30‑second ads if the U.S. advances and helps justify Fox’s reported $485 million English‑rights investment.