2022 World Cup Becomes Most-Watched USMNT Group Stage Ever With Fox Sports Breaking Records
Anyone out there that still doesn't believe soccer is growing in the United States, ratings don't lie, and the ratings for the World Cup group stage are massive. Fox Sports has shattered previous records thanks in large part to over 15 million viewers tuning in for the final minutes of the USMNT win over Iran.
The USMNT's three group stage matches against Wales, England, and Iran averaged 11.7 million viewers, crushing the average of 10.6 million viewers the last time the U.S. appeared in a World Cup.
Fox executive Michael Mulvihill shared that the 11.7 million average of viewers trumps every non-NFL show on television this Fall.
Tuesday's USA-Iran match averaged 12 million viewers and peaked at 15.6 million viewers as Americans tuned in to watch the USMNT advance to the knockout stage with the 1-0 victory.
The U.S. win over Iran was the most streamed World Cup match in the history of Fox Sports with over 959,000 tuning in.
These numbers come on the heels of the USMNT-England Black Friday match, which reportedly drew in a total of 20 million viewers. A total of 15.4 million people tuned into Fox to watch the 0-0 draw with another 4.6 million tuning into the Spanish telecast on Telemundo.
While these numbers are undoubtedly impressive, the 2-2 draw against Portugal in the 2014 World Cup still holds the title of the most-watched soccer game in history with 24 million viewers.
The USMT takes on the Netherlands on Saturday morning at 10 AM ET on Fox. Given that it is a knockout stage game taking place on the weekend, it's a safe bet that viewership numbers will rival and maybe even surpass the 20 million number we saw for the draw against England.