The 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals delivered outstanding television audiences across Europe, with England, France and Spain all recording some of their biggest sports broadcasts in recent years as their national teams secured places in the semi-finals.
England reaches 16.4 million viewers on ITV
England’s dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway attracted a peak audience of 16.4 million viewers on free-to-air broadcaster ITV, making it the network’s largest audience since the UEFA Euro 2024 final.
ITV said the match also became the most-watched programme on any television channel or streaming platform in the UK during 2026.
The broadcaster shares FIFA World Cup rights with the BBC, which aired England’s previous round-of-16 victory over Mexico despite the match kicking off at 2:00 a.m. UK time. The BBC will broadcast England’s semi-final against Argentina.
France posts biggest TV audience of 2026
France’s 2-0 quarter-final victory over Morocco generated an average audience of 16.1 million viewers on free-to-air broadcaster TF1, making it the highest-rated television programme in France so far this year.
The match peaked at 18.1 million viewers on TF1, with additional audiences from pay-TV broadcaster beIN Sports not included in those figures.
TF1 is broadcasting 54 World Cup matches, including every France fixture, while beIN Sports is showing all 104 matches of the tournament.
Spain dominates prime-time television
Spain’s last-gasp 2-1 win over Belgium averaged 11.45 million viewers across RTVE’s La 1 and La 2 channels and streaming platform DAZN.
The broadcast captured a remarkable 76.5% audience share, while 15.9 million unique viewers tuned in to watch the match.
Spanish media also reported that 75.3% of the country’s population has watched at least one live World Cup match since the tournament began in June.
Semi-finals expected to set new records
With France facing Spain in the first semi-final and England taking on Argentina in the second, broadcasters across Europe are anticipating even larger audiences as the tournament approaches its conclusion.
The strong quarter-final figures reinforce the FIFA World Cup’s status as one of the world’s most valuable television properties, continuing to deliver massive audiences for both free-to-air broadcasters and streaming platforms while driving commercial value for media rights holders and advertisers.