The FIFA World 2026 touched down in Canada for the first time ever this summer, and Bell Media’s exclusive live coverage of the tournament captivated audiences across the country. Overall, 30.5 million unique Canadian viewers (75 per cent of Canada’s population) watched live tournament coverage on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave, according to preliminary data from Numeris.

Overall, the 104 tournament matches attracted a per-game average audience of 1.6 million viewers, an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to the 2022 tournament. 

“Throughout this incredible tournament, Bell Media’s ambitious coverage united fans, broke audience records, and made this the biggest FIFA World Cup in Canadian history,” said Kevin Cluett, SVP, Subscription Services, Sports, and Out of Home, Bell Media. “The commitment to excellence across our organisation was visible in all aspects of our business, bringing together premium content and cross-platform activation. These exceptional results demonstrate the full power of Bell Media’s connected ecosystem, and our ability to transform passion-fueled content into audience growth and consumer engagement, connecting Canadian audiences and our advertising partners to the biggest sporting event on the planet.” 

“With thrilling matches, passionate fans here on home soil in stadiums and on the streets, and the history-making performance of Canada’s Men’s National Team, Canadians will never forget FIFA World Cup 2026,” added Shawn Redmond, VP, Bell Media Sports. “On behalf of the whole team at TSN and RDS, we were honoured to give audiences across the country a front row seat to a phenomenal month of international sport at its highest level. My biggest congratulations goes out to our talented team members across every department, whose skill and dedication was on full display not just during this tournament, but in the years leading up to it. The effort they put into this once-in-a-lifetime event was the driving force that made our multi-platform coverage an overwhelming success.”

Overall Audience Figures 

• Canada’s Men’s National Team advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time, with their match against Morocco attracting an average audience of 5.4 million viewers, the most-watched match of any non-Final ever
• A total of 68 matches at World Cup attracted an average audience of at least 1 million viewers
• A total of 38 Group Stage matches at World Cup attracted an average audience of at least 1 million viewers, with the average audience for Group Stage matches increasing by +43 per cemt compared to 2022
• The tournament’s first-ever slate of Round of 32 matches attracted an average audience of 1.9 million viewers
• With an average audience of 2.5 million viewers, Round of 16 matches increased more than 100 per cent compared to 2022
• The tournament’s semi-final matches attracted an average audience of 3.7 million viewers, with Argentina v England becoming the most-watched semi-final match on record with 4.1 million viewers
• Canadians consumed more than 400 million hours of World Cup live matches, up nearly 160 per cent compared to the 2022 tournament
• TSN saw significant fan engagement for World Cup content across its leading social media accounts, including more than 1.2 billion video views and more than 2.5 billion impressions
• More than 91 million views for World Cup content on the TSN YouTube channel 
• The final match, in which Spain beat Argentina, attracted a record average audience of 6.4 million viewers on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo, and Crave, making it the most-watched World Cup match ever in Canada. The average audience for the match was up +32 per cent compared to the 2022 Final.  Overall, 14.6 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in for the record-breaking match, which saw audiences peak with 9.05 million viewers at 5:57 p.m. ET as Spain secured the 1-0 win in extra time. Streaming audiences continued to surge, with audiences up more than 200 per cent compared to the 2022 Final.   

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Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Content, Research

Tags: Bell, canada, morocco, spain, usa, World Cup