Nearly half of World Cup watchers are choosing Telemundo over Fox
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The U.S. telecasts of this summer's World Cup games are drawing a record number of viewers. Fox Sports, which broadcasts the games in English, reports an average of 5 million viewers across 72 group stage matches. And Telemundo says nearly half of all World Cup viewers in the country are watching its Spanish-language broadcasts. NPR's Mandalit del Barco has more.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Last night, fans celebrated as the U.S. men's national soccer team knocked out Bosnia Herzegovina's team 2-0 during the latest round of the Copa Mundial, as it's known in Spanish.
(CHEERING)
DEL BARCO: At Cafe Brasil in Culver City, California, Giselle Rosas and her mother, Graciela Reyes, both born in Mexico, cheered for the U.S. team along with Telemundo's famously exuberant announcer.
GISELLE ROSAS: It's Andres Cantor.
GRACIELA REYES: Oh, yeah. That's the best part for everybody. Gooooal (ph).
DEL BARCO: You think it's more fun to watch in Spanish?
ROSAS: Yes, a million percent.
REYES: More enthusiastic.
ROSAS: We like the excitement, the feeling, the sentiment, the ambience. It's just so different. It's a night and day difference.
DEL BARCO: That kind of passion, to date, has translated to an average per match of 4.6 million World Cup viewers of Spanish-language sportscasts on Telemundo and Peacock streaming services, according to NBC Universal.
MIGUEL LORENZO: This is the most-watched World Cup ever in Spanish language in this country. The numbers are just mind-blowing, really.
DEL BARCO: Miguel Lorenzo is a senior vice president at Telemundo Deportes.
LORENZO: Basically, half of the country of the United States is watching the World Cup in Spanish on Telemundo, but we also know that only 20% of the U.S. population is Hispanic. We're seeing audiences that are bilingual, that are Spanish dominant, that speak English enjoying World Cup coverage.
DEL BARCO: According to Nielsen ratings, 20% of Telemundo's World Cup viewers are not fluent Spanish speakers. And Lorenzo says, overall, the viewership on its telecast has increased by 122% since the 2022 World Cup games. He says excitement has been highest for the winning matches by Mexico and the U.S. And after last night's games, the network's social media platform surpassed a record-breaking 1 billion views.
LORENZO: I can't tell you how many comments I've seen where people are saying I don't speak a lick of Spanish, but I want to watch it on Telemundo because it just sounds more exciting, and maybe by the end of the World Cup, I'll learn Spanish. Joy and excitement and drama - it's language agnostic. It's universal.
DEL BARCO: Unlike Fox, which runs commercials during hydration breaks for the players, Telemundo keeps its cameras on the field. That's something very much appreciated by fans like comedian Trevor Noah, who has been hosting World Cup watch parties on his YouTube channel.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TREVOR NOAH: We're seeing the players on the pitch discussing what's happening. You see which coach is more stressed. You see who's thinking - like, some players are tapping each other on the back. This is part of the game.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yes. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
NOAH: And I feel like, when you cut to ads...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: You're taken away from the game.
NOAH: Yeah, but you lose this. So shoutout, again, Telemundo. Really, really amazing coverage.
DEL BARCO: No matter what network they watch, World Cup fans are hoping their team gets a similar reaction past winners have gotten.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANDRES CANTOR: (Speaking Spanish). Gooooal.
DEL BARCO: Mandalit del Barco, NPR News, Los Angeles.
(SOUNDBITE OF VULFPECK SONG, "CONSCIOUS CLUB")
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