Ratings Roundup: USMNT-Australia Draws 23M Viewers; Mexico-South Korea Is Most-Watched Spanish-Language Soccer Match Ever

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, the USMNT's 2-0 Group Stage win over Australia averages 16.2 million viewers on FOX and 6.8 million viewers on Telemundo/Peacock; FOX Sports posts multi-year records across FOX and FS1 as FIFA World Cup 2026 viewership tracks 124% above 2022; Telemundo and Peacock's Mexico-South Korea match becomes the most-watched soccer match in Spanish-language history at 14 million viewers; Wyndham Clark wins the 126th U.S. Open as NBC Sports posts the second-most-watched east coast U.S. Open since 2013; UFC Freedom 250 reaches an estimated 34 million global viewers from the White House; and more.

Not suprisingly, Nielsen's Top 25 Live Sports Events Telecasts for the week of June 15-June 21 was dominated by FIFA World Cup 2026, which secured 24 of the 25 spots. The only non-World Cup event to place in the Top 25 ranker was NBC's golf coverage of the Final Round of the U.S. Open Championship, which secured the #13 spot this week with 5.12 million viewers. FOX's coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 featuring USA vs. Australia was the #1 most-watched live sports event of the week, delivering 16.22 million viewers on Friday, June 19. In fact, there were 51 FIFA World Cup telecasts in the Top 250 most-watched of all scheduled program telecasts of the week across broadcast, cable and live streaming.

USMNT 2-0 Win Over Australia Draws 16.2 Million on FOX and 6.8 Million on TelemundoFriday afternoon's USMNT 2-0 victory over Australia averaged 16,217,000 viewers across FOX, FOX ONE, and Tubi - the best Friday afternoon telecast on broadcast television since the 2020 NFL on FOX Christmas game and the second most-watched FIFA Men's World Cup Group Stage telecast in English-language U.S. history, trailing only USMNT-Paraguay on June 12 (18,039,000 viewers). It was also the second most-watched USMNT telecast in English-language U.S. history. The audience peaked at 21,219,000 viewers from 4:45-5:00 p.m. ET, with top local markets in Kansas City (9.42/41), Seattle (8.26/44), Boston (7.89/34), Dallas (7.85/36), and St. Louis (7.31/30).

On Telemundo, Peacock, and Telemundo's streaming platforms, USMNT-Australia delivered a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 6.8 million viewers, up 46% vs. the USMNT's second Group Stage match of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (vs. England, 4.7 million). The match ranks as the second most-watched U.S. Men's FIFA World Cup match ever on Spanish-language television.

FOX Sports World Cup Coverage: Multi-Year Records Across FOX and FS1FOX Sports' English-language coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 is averaging 5,905,000 viewers across FOX, FS1, and Tubi through the first 10 days, up 124% vs. the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup Group Stage telecast average. Friday, June 19, was the most-watched FIFA Men's World Cup Day in English-language U.S. history, anchored by USMNT-Australia and capped by Morocco-Scotland on FOX (9,174,000 viewers, peaking at 10,548,000) and Brazil-Haiti on FOX (8,741,000, peaking at 9,984,000). Paraguay-T rkiye on FS1 added 2,752,000 viewers later that night.

Thursday's June 18 Mexico-Korea Republic match on FOX drew 9,361,000 viewers - the No. 2 Men's World Cup non-USMNT Group Stage telecast in English-language U.S. history - peaking at 11,547,000 from 10:30-10:45 p.m. ET and up 192% vs. the 2022 non-USMNT Group Stage telecast average on FOX (3,210,000). The day was rounded out by Czechia-South Africa on FOX (2,980,000), Switzerland-Bosnia/Herzegovina on FOX (4,589,000), and Canada-Qatar on FS1 (3,351,000, up 166% vs. the 2022 FS1 Group Stage average).

FS1 set multiple records during the week. Sunday's Uruguay-Cabo Verde averaged 6,183,000 viewers - the most-watched soccer telecast in FS1 history - up 391% vs. the 2022 FS1 Group Stage average (1,259,000) and peaking at 8,428,000 from 7:45-8:00 p.m. ET. Sunday's New Zealand-Egypt followed at 5,881,000, the second most-watched soccer telecast in FS1 history.

Tuesday's June 16 slate on FOX produced multiple star turns: Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria, featuring a Lionel Messi hat trick, drew 9,082,000 viewers (peaking at 10,528,000), up 183% vs. the 2022 non-USMNT Group Stage average on FOX; Erling Haaland led Norway to a 4-1 win over Iraq with 5,909,000 viewers (peaking at 7,380,000); and Kylian Mbapp and France defeated Senegal 3-1 with 5,071,000 viewers (peaking at 6,529,000). Other notable matches across the week included Wednesday's England-Croatia on FOX (6,776,000); Saturday's Germany-C te d'Ivoire on FOX (7,792,000, peaking at 10,468,000) and Netherlands-Sweden on FOX (5,595,000); and Monday's Norway-Senegal on FOX (6,091,000, the No. 1 sports telecast of the day on any network), Argentina-Austria on FOX (5,569,000), and France-Iraq on FOX (5,547,000).

Telemundo/Peacock World Cup Coverage: Mexico-South Korea Is One for the Record BooksTelemundo and Peacock's Spanish-language coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 5.5 million viewers through the first 40 matches, up 141% vs. the same stage of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Nineteen matches have delivered a TAD of more than 5 million viewers, compared to just two at the same point in 2022. Across Peacock and Telemundo's streaming platforms, Average Minute Audience averages 2.3 million viewers - up 277% vs. 2022 (622,000 AMA) - and total minutes consumed across all platforms reached 26.2 billion through 40 matches, already surpassing the 22 billion total minutes consumed during the entirety of the 2022 World Cup in Spanish.

Thursday's June 18 Mexico-South Korea match delivered a TAD of 14 million viewers - the most-watched soccer match ever in Spanish-language history - surpassing the previous r

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