Fox Sports is averaging more than 2 million viewers for early coverage of the World Cup's Round of 16 matches amid major tournament upsets and the elimination of high-profile teams.
Fox Sports is averaging 2.3 million viewers across Fox broadcasting and FS1 through July 2 — the first three days of the World Cup’s Round of 16 action — which is down 20% from ESPN/ABC’s round of 16 coverage from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (excluding Team USA matches) but up 16% versus the same round in 2010, according to Fox Sports.
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Looking at combined viewership from the last four World Cup tournaments, Fox Sports reports that its audience is up 4% after the first three days of the Round of 16.
Fox Sports drew big numbers Monday for the Brazil-Mexico match as 4.7 million viewers tuned in on Fox and streaming sources (4.18 million on TV) to watch Brazil advance, 2-0, to the quarterfinals. The TV audience peaked at 5.373 million viewers between 11:30 and 11:45 a.m. ET.
Later Monday, 3.9 million TV and streaming viewers (about 3.5 million on Fox TV) watched Belgium defeat Japan, according to Fox Sports. The TV audience peaked between 3:45 and 4 p.m. with 4.64 million viewers.
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Overall the matches Monday averaged 3.837 million viewers on Fox, the network said, up 9% from Day 3 of the Round of 16 on ESPN in 2014, up 92% from the corresponding day in 2010 and up 96% from 2006 (also ESPN), Fox said.
Tuesday's matches saw Sweden and England also advance to the World Cup’s quarterfinal round, joining Russia, Uruguay, France, Belgium, Brazil, and Croatia as nations with a shot at winning the World Cup.
Eliminated from World Cup competition during the Round of 16 were early tournament favorites Spain, Portugal, and Argentina.
