The FIFA World Cup will include even more broadcast network exposure than originally planned.
Fox Sports has announced coverage details for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico this summer, with a record 70 matches set to air on the FOX broadcast network. FOX was originally slated to carry 69 matches. The network’s coverage will begin with Mexico-South Africa on Thursday, June 11 at 3:00 PM ET, preceded by a two-hour pregame show.
FS1 will carry the remaining 34 matches (compared to the originally-planned 35), opening its slate with South Korea facing an as-yet-unknown opponent at 10:00 PM ET. For complete details, see the full TV schedule here.
In the first two weeks of the tournament, FOX will typically air the first one or two games of each day, leaving FS1 to air the games in primetime (with the exception of matches featuring the United States, which will all air on FOX). FIFA has deliberately scheduled higher-profile games featuring marquee European teams in the afternoon windows, to coincide with primetime in Europe, leaving somewhat weaker night games for FS1 to air.
The shift to FS1 allows the network to maintain its primetime entertainment schedule through the early stages of the tournament, as well as its Saturday-night coverage of Major League Baseball.
In the final matchday of the group stage, FS1 and FOX will split the simultaneous windows, with Fox airing the higher-profile matchup in each window. All but two of the knockout stage matches will air on Fox, including every match from the Round of 16 onward. The Final will air on Fox at 3 PM ET on Sunday, July 19.
For those outside the cable bundle, all coverage will be available on the new Fox One streaming platform ($19.99/month). Additionally, Fox will make the opening matches for Mexico (vs. South Africa on 6/11) and the United States (vs. Paraguay on 6/12) available for free on the Tubi platform. Tubi also simulcast Fox’s coverage of Super Bowl LIX last year, in addition to other major events.
Rights to air Spanish-language coverage of the tournament are held not by Fox, but by NBC Sports, which will split all matches between Telemundo and Universo, with all Spanish-language coverage available on Peacock.
