A renewal of the United States-Mexico soccer rivalry earned Fox a record audience on Sunday night.
Mexico’s 2-1 win over the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final averaged 3.73 million viewers, per Fox Sports PR. It was the largest English-language audience for a Gold Cup match in history and the most-watched English-language soccer telecast on any network since the 2024 Copa America final on Fox.
Sunday’s match peaked at 5.2 million viewers in the 8:45 p.m. ET quarter-hour, coinciding with the game’s conclusion. Viewership increased by 239% compared to the previous Gold Cup final in 2023, although that match did not feature the United States (Mexico’s match against Panama drew 1.1 million viewers on Fox).
The match caps off a strong Gold Cup for Fox. The network earned a non-final record during the USMNT’s thrilling quarterfinal win over Costa Rica, which saw the United States win in penalty kicks and posted increases in other USMNT match windows as well.
Overall, the Gold Cup averaged 474,000 viewers per game across Fox, FS1, and FS2, making it the most-watched iteration of the event since Fox began airing it. This year’s tournament increased by 21% versus the 393,000 viewers per match that the 2023 tournament drew, no doubt aided by the United States’ deep run.
As noted by Fox Sports analytics guru Michael Mulvihill, Nielsen’s new out-of-home viewing measurements played a big role in securing the record number. Per Mulvihill, out-of-home viewing added more than 30% to the in-home audience for the Gold Cup final.
Sunday’s final was the last competitive game the USMNT will play until next year’s FIFA World Cup, which Fox will also air.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.