FIFA World Cup 2022™ opener delivers 4.0 Millions viewers on Telemundo & Peacock

In an unprecedented FIFA World Cup contested in the fall — and the first to open on a Sunday in 40 years — Telemundo Deportes’ Spanish-language coverage of the host-nation Qatar v. Ecuador on Sunday averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.0 million viewers across Telemundo, Peacock and Telemundo Deportes’ digital platforms, up 164% compared to the opening match in 2018. The start of the FIFA World Cup also powered Peacock to the No. 1 spot among free iOS apps on Sunday and Monday. Telemundo is the exclusive Spanish-language media rights holder to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ in the U.S.

The 4.0 million viewers for Ecuador’s 2-0 victory over Qatar on the opening day of the tournament outpaced Telemundo’s coverage of 2018 host-nation Russia’s 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia (1.54 million viewers TAD) in the first game of that tournament, which took place on Thursday, June 14. This year’s World Cup is taking place in the fall to offset Qatar’s extreme summer heat. The match also surpassed the viewership for all but four of the 48 Group Matches in 2018, all of which featured either Mexico or Brazil.

Across Peacock and Telemundo’s digital streaming platforms, the game ranked as most streamed World Cup game ever in Spanish-language media history delivering an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 832,000 viewers, representing 21% of the average audience, a high figure for sports streaming.

Telemundo dominated local markets during the full coverage window (10:30 am – 1:15 pm ET), ranking as the No. 1 network overall in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Phoenix. It was also the No. 1 Spanish-language network in Chicago, San Francisco, Orlando, Sacramento, Tampa, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston and Atlanta during the match.

Qatar-Ecuador also is the most-watched Sunday morning sports program on Spanish-language television in three years, since the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final featuring USA vs. Netherlands (July 7, 2019). It also ranks No. 8 among Sunday morning sports programs on Spanish-language television on record (TV only; since 2006).

Viewership figures are based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

Following today’s three matches, coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ on Telemundo and Peacock resumes Tuesday with four matches:

BCS Bureau