It’s still early days, but one of the most fascinating stories about Qatar 2022 is how well Peacock’s World Cup viewership numbers are doing.
For a streaming service that is showing games only in Spanish, you would expect it to do decently well. However, Tuesday’s World Cup coverage on Peacock blew the roof off. In short, it was Peacock’s biggest weekday ever since the streaming service launched in 2020.
Mexico-Poland viewing numbers surge
Even more impressively, Mexico against Poland became the most-streamed World Cup match in US history, averaging 1.3 million average minute viewers.
Through the first three days of all World Cup coverage from Telemundo Deportes, 29% of the viewership is attributed to streaming.
Returning to the Mexico-Poland game for a second, the total audience delivery for the game across Telemundo Deportes linear and digital was 4.6 million.
According to Telemundo Deportes, Telemundo and Peacock viewers are invested for the long haul because they support more teams in the tournament. Telemundo reports that on average, each viewer is supporting 3.3 teams, +33% higher than other viewers. And, three in four Spanish-language viewers are planning to continue tuning in should their favorite team be eliminated, “creating a more loyal and engaged audience for brands to tap into throughout the entirety of the Tournament.”
Why is Peacock’s World Cup viewership a hit?
What isn’t mentioned above yet is the fact that many English-language sports fans are flocking to Peacock. Why? Here are my five reasons why:
- It’s only $4.99 per month
- A lot of Premier League fans already have Peacock
- It’s an ideal option for cord cutters who don’t want cable or satellite
- The first 12 World Cup games were free on Peacock
- FOX Sports app is buggy and requires authentication.
Another reason may be the dissatisfaction among soccer fans at the lack of insightful World Cup analysis from FOX Sports. It’s nowhere near the same that ESPN gave us in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments, for example.
On top of that, FOX’s fawning of Qatar is too much for a lot of viewers to stomach. Meanwhile, Telemundo Deportes are delivering on their promise of not shirking their editorial responsibilities to report the news both on and off the field.
Peacock offers Black Friday sale to sweeten the deal for soccer fans
Peacock may end up seeing bigger numbers as the tournament progresses. Reason being that Peacock has just launched a Black Friday offer. You can get Peacock for $0.99 for 12 months. The offer ends Monday, November 28, 2022.
Guide to World Cup 2022
Here are some resources to help you get the most out of the biggest event in soccer!
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