Digital Live Sports Viewers Will Outnumber Traditional TV in 2026

The 2026 World Cup final proved live sports commands a massive audience, drawing 66.4 million average viewers across every platform that carried the match, making it the highest-rated TV event since Super Bowl LX. Fox and its platforms brought in 42.5 million English-language viewers, while Telemundo and Peacock delivered another 23.9 million for Spanish-language streams. The even bigger story is the growth: Fox’s tournament average jumped 116% over the 2022 World Cup, and Telemundo and Peacock viewership surged 143%. Fans showed up in force, and across more screens than ever.

That spread is exactly what advertisers chasing live sports viewers want to see. EMARKETER forecasts 122.7 million US adults will watch live sports digitally this year, outpacing the 110.3 million still tuning in on traditional TV, with digital viewership rising 6.1% while traditional slips 3.3%. Something interesting is happening with viewing preferences, too: younger fans favor clips, with 47% of Gen Zers saying they prefer watching highlights over full games. Brands that keep a consistent message while tailoring creative to each screen have the best chance to reach these fans wherever they go for the game.

Our Take
Live sports used to be a place on TV where only the biggest spenders could afford to play. But the game has changed: digital live sports viewers will outnumber traditional TV viewers this year, and the tournament’s biggest moments pull tens of millions across premium streaming, not just broadcast. The question for advertisers is no longer whether they can get in, it’s what they can prove once they do. 

We watched that answer take shape during the tournament itself. MNTN advertisers who aired on premium CTV during the live matches drove more than 1.2 million site visits and close to 58,000 conversions at a blended 8.35x ROAS, and 29% of them on television for the first time. And those visits and conversions kept coming long after the final whistle, even on the days no ads ran.

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