Sunday’s Argentina v. France Final is Most-Watched Match of the Tournament in Spanish with a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 9.0 Million Viewers, Up 65% vs. 2018 Final (France-Croatia, 5.5 Million)
With AMA of 3.0 Million Viewers, Argentina v. France is Most-Streamed FIFA World Cup Match in U.S. Media History, Regardless of Language, and Up 2,156% vs. 2018 Final
Telemundo’s World Cup Coverage Averaged a TAD of 2.6 Million Viewers Across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and Telemundo Streaming Platforms, Up 14% vs. 2018 Tournament (2.27 million)
Powered by Peacock, Streaming Delivers Record 30% of Total Spanish-Language Viewership
Telemundo Ranked #1 Spanish-Language TV Network for all Days of World Cup During Total Day (6A-2A) with 1.2 Million Average Viewers
Telemundo’s World Cup Viewing Experience Surpassed All Advertiser Expectations, Forging Deep, Long-Lasting Consumer Connections All Tournament Long
DOHA, QATAR – Dec. 20, 2022 – Telemundo wraps up its exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ with historic milestone wins across all platforms. The network averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.58 million viewers across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms, up 14% vs. the 2018 tournament (2.27 million), which was played in Russia in the summer.
The Argentina v. France Final on Sun., Dec. 18, was the most-watched match of the tournament in Spanish with a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 9.0 million viewers, up 65% compared to the 2018 Final (France v. Croatia, 5.5 million).
The game also ranks as the most-streamed FIFA World Cup match in U.S. media history, regardless of language with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 2.96 million viewers. The Final on Telemundo also ranks as the #2 most social sports event/telecast of 2022 according to Talkwalker, outperforming all sports events for the year except Super Bowl LVI which aired on NBC and Telemundo, and streamed on Peacock.
“Telemundo’s coverage of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with NBCUniversal’s partnership across all platforms culminated as one of the most exciting and successful World Cups in history,” said Beau Ferrari, Chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “Years of preparation led to record-breaking viewership and revenue across the Telemundo network, local stations and Peacock. This World Cup represents a historic outcome for our entire company. Now, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is upon us, and we look forward to being the home of the World Cup, ‘La Casa del Mundial’ in 2026, when the tournament comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada.”
“This World Cup has made its mark for Telemundo exceeding all expectations and delivering great success across platforms. We are proud to be the home of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and applaud the Telemundo Deportes team behind the production and the entire NBCUniversal family for their support – together we presented the most ambitious World Cup in history,” said Ray Warren, President, Telemundo Deportes. “This 2022 World Cup set a new standard for sports coverage with the most comprehensive footprint on the ground, unprecedented storytelling, unique and diverse perspectives and more excitement than ever before.”
Following are consumption highlights for the complete tournament, which concluded Sunday (Sun., Nov. 20 – Sun., Dec. 18):
TOP 5 MOST-WATCHED MATCH WINDOWS
(Total Audience Delivery; All times ET)
| RANK | DATE | TIME | MATCH | VIEWERS |
| 1. | Sun., Dec. 18 | 10:00 am | Argentina v. France | 9.0 million |
| 2. | Sat., Nov. 26 | 2:00 pm | Argentina v. Mexico | 9.0 million |
| 3. | Thu., Nov. 24 | 2:00 pm | Brazil v. Serbia | 5.7 million |
| 4. | Wed., Nov. 30 | 2:00 pm | Saudi Arabia v. Mexico and Poland v. Argentina* | 5.5 million |
| 5 | Sun., Nov. 27 | 2:00 pm | Spain v. Germany | 4.9 million |
*Matches aired simultaneously on Telemundo and Universo, respectively
Note: Total Audience Delivery is the combination of television and digital viewers. Viewership figures are based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY
- The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ averaged a TAD of 2.58 million viewers across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms, up 14% vs. the 2018 tournament (2.27 million), which was played in Russia in the summer. This year’s World Cup is the first to take place in the fall to offset Qatar’s extreme summer heat.
- Of the past eight FIFA World Cup tournaments, Spanish-language total viewership (including streaming) for the 2022 Group Stage, Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals rank second only to the 2014 tournament, which was played in Brazil and featured favorable time zones for U.S. viewers.
- There were 14 games with at least 4.0 million viewers and 24 with 3.0+ million, up from 6 and 13, respectively, compared to 2018.
- The Top 5 teams in terms of viewership across the entire tournament were: Mexico (averaging 6.0 million viewers TAD); Argentina (5.1 million); France (4.4 million); USA (3.8 million); and Brazil (3.4 million).
- A close second to the Final, the Argentina v. Mexico game on Sat., Nov. 26, which also averaged a TAD of 9.0 million viewers, ranks as the most-watched World Cup Group Stage match in Spanish-language history.
- Mexico and Argentina combined for another highly-viewed programming window on Wed., Nov. 30. With both teams playing simultaneously at 2 p.m. ET, Saudi Arabia v. Mexico averaged a TAD of 4.43 million viewers (Telemundo, Peacock) while Poland v. Argentina averaged a TAD of 1.06 million viewers (Universo, Peacock), combining for 5.5 million viewers and making it the fourth-most watched programming window of the tournament.
- Team USA returned to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2014. The Fri., Nov. 25, England v. USA match averaged a TAD of 4.7 million viewers, making it the second-most watched World Cup Group Stage match featuring a U.S. team in Spanish-language history.
- The first World Cup played on Thanksgiving produced the third-most watched match of the tournament – Brazil v. Serbia (5.7 million).
- Total minutes consumed during the tournament is 22.1 billion across Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and Telemundo digital streaming platforms, up 14% compared to 2018 (19.4 billion).
STREAMING
“Telemundo’s World Cup coverage exceeded expectations in every way on Peacock, including usage, new subscriber acquisition and overall engagement,” said Rick Cordella, President, Programming, NBC Sports and Peacock Sports. “The World Cup, along with the Super Bowl and Beijing Olympics, capped off an incredible 2022 and cements Peacock as having the highest quality, broadest and deepest sports portfolio in streaming.”
Final Match
- With an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 2.96 million viewers across Peacock and Telemundo Deportes digital platforms, the Argentina v. France Final is the most-streamed FIFA World Cup match in U.S. media history, regardless of language.
- Argentina v. France 2022 Final (2.96 million viewers AMA) delivered 2,156% more streaming viewers -- or almost 23x -- than the 2018 Final (131,000).
- Argentina v. France surpassed the previous streaming record for a match by 42% (Argentina v. Mexico, 2.0 million, Nov. 26, 2022).
- The Argentina v. France Final on Sunday ranks as the second-most watched content title in a single day in Peacock history, behind only the Super Bowl LVI earlier this year.
Entire Tournament
- FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ delivered an AMA of 767,000 viewers for all 64 games across Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms, up 271% vs. 2018 (207,000).
- There were 19 games that averaged 1.0 million or more streaming viewers, up from zero such games in 2018.
- Overall, streaming comprised a record 30% of Telemundo’s total viewership for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Telemundo averaged a TAD of 2.58 million viewers for the tournament across all platforms — up 14% compared to 2018 — with streaming responsible for 767,000 of those viewers on Peacock and Telemundo streaming platforms. Streaming represented only 9% of viewership consumption in 2018.
- Across multiple metrics -- including reach, usage, and subscriber acquisition – the entire FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ tournament is the 1 live-event franchise in the history of Peacock.
- Over the course of the four-week tournament, eight of the 15 most-watched individual content titles on Peacock were World Cup matches.
- For most of the four-week tournament, Peacock was at or near the No. 1 spot on the App Store for free iOS apps.
- On Peacock, the Tplus Copa Mundial 24/7 channel generated 12 million hours of consumption and, despite being available for just over a month, ranks as Peacock’s No. 4 channel of 2022 year-to-date.
TOP 5 MOST-STREAMED MATCH WINDOWS
(Average Minute Audience; All times ET)
| RANK | DATE | TIME | MATCH | VIEWERS |
| 1. | Sun., Dec. 18 | 10:00 am | Argentina v. France | 2.96 million |
| 2. | Sat., Nov. 26 | 2:00 pm | Argentina v. Mexico | 2.08 million |
| 3. | Wed., Nov. 30 | 2:00 pm | Saudi Arabia v. Mexico and Poland v. Argentina* | 1.96 million |
| 4. | Tue., Dec. 13 | 2:00 pm | Argentina v. Croatia | 1.70 million |
| 5. | Fri., Dec. 9 | 2:00 pm | Netherlands v. Argentina | 1.53 million |
*Matches streamed simultaneously
TELEMUNDO NETWORK
- FIFA World Cup ancillary programming across daytime performed significantly above its respective daypart prior four-week averages, including post-show Debate Mundial with 1.4 million viewers, a lift of +312%.
- Telemundo has ranked as the #1 Spanish-language TV network for all days (Nov. 20-Dec. 18) of the World Cup during Total Day (6A-2A) with 1.2 million average viewers and a share of 59% of three Spanish-language networks. Telemundo’s total day delivery is up +171% its prior four-week. [Telemundo, Univision and Unimas comprise the three-network Spanish-language audience.]
- Telemundo broke viewership records for most-watched days in network history three times during the FIFA World Cup.
- Tue., Nov. 22, was highest-rated Tuesday ever in network history for Total Day with 1.24 million viewers.
- Thanksgiving (Thu., Nov. 24) was the most-watched Thursday in network history with 1.58 million average viewers.
- Black Friday, Nov. 25, averaged 1.27 million viewers ranks as the most-watched Friday in network history.
- Year-to-date, Telemundo World Cup matches have produced the top 10 most-watched sporting events on Spanish-language TV, including #1 Argentina v. Mexico with 6.3 million TV-only viewers.
LOCAL STATIONS
- In the 896 FIFA World Cup match windows played on Spanish-language network television (56 games across 16 top Hispanic markets), Telemundo ranked No. 1 in viewership among Spanish-language networks 95% of the time and ranked No. 1 regardless of language 18% of the time. [Does not include eight games presented on cable network Universo.]
- Telemundo ranked No. 1 in Los Angeles among Spanish-language networks 100% of the time when World Cup matches were being played and 98% of the time in New York and Miami. Among all networks regardless of language during the games, the percentages are 88% in Los Angeles, 89% in Miami and 25% in New York.
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Telemundo owned social accounts reached 19.4 million actions (+255% vs. 2018) and 263 million video views across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok throughout Qatar 2022.
- Instagram was the largest driver of engagement for World Cup content, reaching 10.6 million actions (55% of total) while TikTok garnered the most social views with 98 million views (37% of total).
- Top post by actions was published on Telemundo Deportes TikTok account and featured Guillermo Ochoa after Mexico failed to qualify to the round of 16 (563K actions).
- Top post by views was published on Telemundo Main TikTok with an ad in partnership with Coca Cola and featured Chef Oropeza (5.9M views).
Sunday’s Performance (12/18/22):
- Posts published on the last day of the 2022 FIFA World Cup reached 3.5 million actions (+835% vs Russia 2018’s last day) and 3.5 million video views, ranking as the best performing day of the tournament across both metrics. Instagram led in both actions (62% of total) and views (45%).
- Top post by actions and views for Sunday (12/18) featured Telemundo’s Andres Cantor calling Argentina’s win during yesterday’s final’s match. The post was published on Noticias Telemundo’s TikTok account and generated 407,000 actions and 3.2 million views.
ADVERTISING IMPACT
After 64 matches, including one unforgettable Final, NBCUniversal’s presentation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ surpassed benchmarks, delivering full-funnel impact for advertisers across platforms, at scale. For the full tournament, Telemundo advertisers earned:
- ad attention (iSpot.tv): +10% higher attention index vs. competitive norms
- brand recall (Marketcast TVBE): +10% higher brand recall vs. English-language coverage of the World Cup
- search engagement (EDO): +20% higher online brand search vs. competitive norms
- purchase intent (Marketcast TVBE): +2x higher purchase intent vs. English-language coverage of the World Cup
During the critical holiday shopping season, impact increased throughout the four weeks of the tournament, culminating in the riveting Final, where marketers saw the highest impact of the tournament: +46% higher attention score and +165% online search engagement than competitive norms.
Advertiser support -- including contextually relevant creative and sponsorship positions -- unlocked immense fan appreciation throughout the tournament with four in five viewers saying NBCUniversal’s World Cup brand partners had a meaningful contribution to their positive viewing experience.
The success of the FIFA World Cup sets the stage for a banner year of soccer programming at NBCUniversal for fans and key marketers looking to capitalize on the moment, including the second half of the 2022-23 Premier League season followed by the Spanish-language presentation of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ next summer.
Sources:
- iSpot.tv, World Cup, Telemundo/Universo (11/20/22-12/18/22) vs. competitive media placements.
- Marketcast TVBE, A18-49 for World Cup (11/20/22 - 12/17/22), SL World Cup matches on Telemundo vs. World Cup matches on FOX/FS1
- EDO, World Cup, matches and ancillary content, All Dayparts (11/20-12/18/22) Compared to EL/SL Competitive broadcast/cable (all dayparts)
- BPI, 2022 WC Sentiment Tracker, Wave 2 (11/21-12/3/22, n=800)
About NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises:
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises leads the media industry in the production and distribution of Spanish-language content for U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. The company serves U.S. Hispanics through its national broadcast network, the cable network Universo, and digital platforms including the Telemundo app and streaming services, such as Peacock, among others. The Telemundo Network offers Spanish-language entertainment, news, and sports content reaching 95% of U.S. Hispanic TV households in 210 markets through 30 owned stations and 61 affiliate stations. Telemundo also owns an independent station serving Puerto Rico. Telemundo is the exclusive U.S. Spanish-language home of the world’s two most popular sporting events, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, as well as the Premier League and Mexican soccer team Chivas. The #1 producer of scripted Spanish-language content in the U.S., Telemundo Global Studios includes Telemundo Television Studios, Telemundo Streaming Studios, and Underground Producciones. Telemundo’s new Tplus content brand on Peacock features programming developed for the full spectrum of Hispanics. NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is a division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.