The ongoing FIFA World Cup has produced dramatically higher ratings for linear TV networks Fox and Telemundo, with prime-time viewership four to five times greater than results from May.
In the most recent Nielsen reporting week ending July 12, Fox dominated broadcast television with an average of 9.1 million live-plus-same-day viewers. NBC followed with 2.3 million, CBS with 2.1 million, ABC with 2.005 million, and Telemundo with 1.995 million.
All of Fox’s top eight broadcast programs for the week were World Cup matches through the quarterfinals.
The highest-rated game was the U.S.-Belgium matchup, which drew a record 33.1 million viewers.
The strong performance continues a trend seen in prior weeks. For the week ending June 28, Fox averaged 7.1 million viewers while Telemundo placed second with 3.0 million. By comparison, Fox averaged just 1.26 million prime-time viewers in May, and Telemundo averaged 851,000.
The World Cup began June 11. From then through July 14, Fox generated an estimated $273.8 million in ad revenue from 11,225 brand airings and 13.5 billion impressions, according to iSpot.tv data. Telemundo collected $300.5 million from 6,772 airings and 10.0 billion impressions.