Sunday’s Germany-Mexico and Brazil-Switzerland FIFA World Cup Matches Make FS1 History

Soccer 06/18/2018

2018 FIFA World Cup™ Group Stage Matches are FS1’s Two Most-Watched Men’s Soccer Matches Ever

Overall World Cup Viewership on FOX and FS1 Continues to Grow

FOX Sports Streaming Platforms Enjoy Biggest Weekend Since Super Bowl LI with 332 Million Minutes Viewed Across Multiple Sports

MOSCOW & NEW YORK – Historic results and nail-biting conclusions led FS1 to record numbers on Sunday with a pair of FIFA World Cup™ Group Stage matches accounting for the channel’s two most-watched men’s soccer matches ever. Mexico’s 1-0 win over defending World Cup champion Germany drew 4,002,000 viewers, only to be eclipsed later in the day by Brazil’s exciting 1-1 draw with Switzerland, which attracted viewership of 4,086,000.

Through the first four days of the tournament, World Cup matches on FOX and FS1 are averaging 2,241,000 viewers, which is up +32% over the complete Group Stage average of the last four World Cups combined, excluding U.S. matches.

Led by international superstar Neymar, Brazil and Switzerland played to a 1-1 tie on Sunday in a match that began at 2:00 PM ET and delivered a combined viewership of 4,301,000 on FS1 and FOX Sports streaming sources. The television-only audience makes the match the most-watched English-language soccer telecast in the U.S. since the Euro 2016 final and is up +119% over the 2010 World Cup Group Stage average, excluding U.S. matches, and up +58% over the 2014 Group Stage average, excluding U.S. matches.

In a match that kicked off at 11:00 AM ET, Mexico captured its first ever World Cup win over Germany in thrilling fashion, delivering a combined audience of 4,254,000 on FS1 and FOX Sports streaming sources. The television-only audience is up +114% over the 2010 and up +54% over the 2014 World Cup Group Stage averages, excluding U.S. matches. With an average minute audience of 252,000 and 717,000 live streamers, the match ranks among the top 10 best-performing events all time on FOX Sports streaming services.

Through Sunday, World Cup matches on FOX and FS1 are attracting large audiences across the country. Washington D.C. leads the metered markets with an average 3.39 rating through Match Day 4, followed by Providence (2.77), Austin (2.66), New York (2.5) and Miami (2.47).

Additional digital and social highlights include:

With a lineup featuring the World Cup, U.S. Open Championship, Major League Baseball and NASCAR, FOX Sports streaming platforms enjoyed their biggest weekend since Super Bowl LI with 332 million minutes viewed from Friday through Sunday.
Over the first four days of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, viewers have consumed 288 million minutes on FOX Sports streaming services.
Led by FOX Sports social accounts, which delivered 18.1 million video views on Sunday, Match Day 4 was FOX Sports’ best performing day of the tournament across digital platforms with 19 million total views, a +30 percent increase over the previous day.
According to Nielsen Social, FOX and FS1 generated the most social conversations over the weekend, led by the Germany vs. Mexico telecast on FS1, which was the most talked-about telecast of the weekend with 1.4 million social interactions.
@FOXSoccer set another daily record on Sunday with 5.4 million views on Twitter, including WORLD CUP NOW hosted by Rachel Bonnetta, beating its previous record, set on Match Day 3 by +21%.

Sources: Adobe Analytics for Live streaming and FOX Sports O&O digital audience metrics; Parse.ly for Highlights Machine; Social Media: Twitter Insights, YouTube Analytics, Nielsen Social, Snap Data Analytics; App download data: Itunes Connect, Google Play, Windows, Amazon, Roku