What the Biggest Streamers Hope to Gain From World Cup 2026

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Football season is here! But this isn’t about American football – it’s the start of the FIFA World Cup! This international tournament happens every four years, and this year it’s being hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It’s a major event for soccer fans, and also a big opportunity for TV channels and streaming services in the U.S. to profit from the sport’s growing popularity.

Although the World Cup isn’t likely to achieve the same massive viewership numbers as the Super Bowl in the U.S. – the most popular game in the 2022 World Cup had fewer viewers than recent NBA Finals games – this year’s tournament is expected to break American viewership records. This is because it’s being held in North America for the first time in over 30 years, and the number of participating teams and matches has increased. Here’s an overview of which media platforms stand to benefit the most from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and their plans to leverage the event.

FOX (Fox Broadcasting, Fox One, Fox Sports 1, Tubi)

Rupert Murdoch’s media company is heavily invested in covering the World Cup as the official U.S. broadcaster. While most viewers will likely watch key matches on the Fox network, the company’s streaming service, Fox One, stands to benefit the most. Launched last year, Fox One streams not only Fox but also channels like Fox Sports 1, meaning it will offer every one of the 104 World Cup matches. This makes it a particularly appealing option for those who’ve cut the cord and don’t subscribe to services like YouTube TV or Fubo, offering complete access to the tournament for $19.99 a month – the lowest price of any similar streaming service. Fox One is promoting this all-inclusive access, offering a free three-day trial to attract FIFA fans. They’re hoping viewers who sign up for the month-long tournament will continue their subscriptions even after it’s over.

It’s difficult to predict how well Fox One will do. Unlike streaming services like Peacock or Hulu, it doesn’t have a lot of original TV shows to attract and keep viewers between live events. While it does offer current seasons of Fox’s dramas and comedies, it’s mainly aimed at people who want Fox News and sports without a traditional cable package. This also means Fox isn’t spending huge amounts of money on new content for the platform, so it doesn’t need as many subscribers as its competitors to succeed. Even if the World Cup only brings in a few hundred thousand subscribers, it could still be considered a positive result for the new service. (Fox One hasn’t yet shared its subscriber numbers.)

Fox is using its free streaming service, Tubi, to attract viewers to its FIFA World Cup coverage. Tubi will stream select matches, like Mexico vs. South Africa on June 11th and the U.S. vs. Paraguay on June 12th, as well as the opening ceremonies, offering a free viewing option for those without cable. Expect to see ads for Fox’s main World Cup coverage and its streaming service, Fox One, during these streams. Tubi has also created a dedicated World Cup section with games and soccer-related shows, including original Tubi series, to keep fans engaged throughout the tournament.

Fox will broadcast many of the most popular games in the tournament, covering every match from July 4th through the championship at the end of the month. Because summer typically brings lower viewership for all networks, Fox is expected to significantly increase its audience over the next month. This will immediately benefit Fox and Fox Sports through increased advertising revenue. More importantly, these large audiences – some of the biggest of the year outside of NFL broadcasts – will allow Fox to promote its current and upcoming shows, including the new summer series Nation’s Dumbest and the Baywatch reboot coming next winter.

NBCUniversal: Telemundo and Peacock

Fox will be the primary English-language broadcaster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but NBCUniversal’s Telemundo holds the rights for Spanish-language coverage. Telemundo plans to broadcast 92 of the 104 games on its main channel and through its app, with the remaining 12 airing on the Universo cable channel. All games will also be available to stream on Peacock, NBCU’s streaming service, but keep in mind that both the audio and captions will be in Spanish. NBCU is investing heavily in this coverage, bringing the same interactive technology used during the Olympics—like multi-view options, an interactive schedule, and Pitchside Live with multiple camera angles—to enhance the viewing experience. They’ll also use Dolby Atmos sound technology to make every goal sound spectacular.

Other players: Roku, YouTube, and more

Fox and NBCU are the official broadcast partners for the World Cup, but many other streaming services will also be heavily featuring tournament coverage over the next month. Roku will create a dedicated “Soccer Zone” to combine scores, highlights, and live games from Fox, Peacock, and other apps. Streaming services aimed at people who’ve cut the cable cord, like Fubo, will also promote access to matches through Fox and Peacock. Google’s YouTube and YouTube TV will be full of World Cup-related content. Beyond the games themselves, streamers like Netflix, BritBox, and HBO Max are capitalizing on the World Cup excitement by releasing soccer-themed documentaries, comedies, and even a new film with Diego Luna.

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2026-06-12 00:54