Early timeslots and an early U.S. exit resulted in sharply lower viewership for the Women’s World Cup.
English-language of the FIFA Women’s World Cup averaged 669,000 viewers across FOX and FS1, down 60% from 2019 (1.66M) and the smallest audience for the event since 2007 on ESPN and ESPN2 (288K). As in 2007, most matches aired in the overnight hours and the United States failed to make the final.
Sunday’s 6 AM ET Spain-England final averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.66 million viewers on FOX, down 88% in ratings and viewership from United States-Netherlands in 2019 (7.7, 13.98M). Excluding pre-match coverage, the final averaged 1.81 million — still down 88% from 2019 (15.57M).
Compared to the 2007 Women’s World Cup Final — both the last to air in an early morning timeslot and the last not to feature the United States — viewership jumped 150% from 664,000 for Germany-Brazil on ESPN2.
Spain’s win, which peaked with 2.45 million from 7:45-8 AM ET, ranks as the most-watched of the four Women’s World Cup finals to not involve the United States (1995, 2003, 2007 and this year).
Viewership for FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, 1999-present
English-language TV only; includes pre-match coverage
The final also averaged 401,000 viewers on Telemundo and Universo (including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen), down 75% from 2019 (1.6M). The full tournament averaged 167,000 across those platforms, down 44% from ’19 (301K) but up 18% from the 2007 tournament (141K).
The two primetime USWNT matches were the most-watched of the tournament on both FOX and the Telemundo networks, with the July 26 matchup with the Netherlands topping the charts at 6.43 million on the former and 1.5 million on the latter. The team’s lone win of the tournament — the July 21 opener against Vietnam — placed second with 5.26 million on FOX and 1.0 million across Telemundo, Universo and streaming.
USWNT matches accounted for the top three audiences on FOX, with the team’s round of 16 loss to Sweden ranking third (2.52M). The top non-USWNT match on both outlets was the primetime Spain-Netherlands quarterfinal, which drew 1.78 million on FOX and 968,000 on Telemundo et al.
Washington D.C. led all markets on FOX Sunday morning with a 2.1 rating and 20 share, followed by Austin, Texas, at a 1.9 and 35. San Diego (1.6/22), Boston (1.6/13) and Hartford (1.5/10) rounded out the top five.
(Nielsen estimates from Fox Sports, Telemundo 8.21)
