US viewers spent nearly 80 billion minutes watching football matches in 2025, according to a report from Nielsen. Heading into the FIFA World Cup 2026, Nielsen’s report demonstrates the rise in popularity of the world’s most popular sport in the US.

Nielsen’s report, Get Ready with Media Intelligence: 2026 FIFA World Cup Edition delves into a number of key areas of interest to marketers including viewership trends, engagement trends, and local market impact.

“To understand where fans are watching and how they engage with the world’s most popular sport, Nielsen is sharing our new proprietary insights and capabilities around the World Cup to arm and empower our clients to thrive during this iconic moment in our sporting history,” commented Seth Ladetsky, Head of Global Sports, Nielsen.

Viewer Trends:

• US viewers spent 79.8 billion minutes watching football matches in 2025

• 33 per cent of the general US population expects their interest in football to increase over the next 18 months

• 64 per cent of US football fans expect their interest in football to increase over the next 18 months

• 56 per cent of current US football fans expect their interest to increase specifically because of the upcoming World Cup

• Viewer interest in international tournaments has been on the rise in the US: In 2024 the average audience for Copa América more than doubled compared to 2021, and in 2025, both the UEFA Women’s Euro and the CONCACAF Gold Cup saw significant increases.

  

The top three football leagues based on viewership in 2025:

1. Liga MX 2 –

2. UEFA Champions League

3. Premier League

Engagement Trends

• US football fans are social superfans.  At 79.5 per cent, US football fans strongly over-index the general population (61.9 per cent) in the use of social media for sports news and content, regardless of platform. Aligning with football-themed channels and working with sports creators are just some ways brands can seize upon social opportunities to engage fans during the World Cup.

• Millennials edge out Gen Z as the top second screeners. Unsurprisingly, football fans across generations are actively engaged on second screens while watching sports, with 86 per cent of Millennials and 83.2 per cent of GenZ outpacing football fans in general at 79.4 per cent. Naturally, social media is a primary second screen activity, but there are others that present interesting ‘ways in’ for marketers during the World Cup–like playing games, ordering food, or reading news related to sporting events they are

• US football fans are more likely than the general population to listen to radio and podcasts for sports news, and 77 per cent report that they use those mediums specifically for football content.

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Categories: Consumer Behaviour, Content, Headline, Research

Tags: football, nielsen, usa, World Cup