Numeris: 77% of Canada saw FIFA men’s World Cup; average viewer watched 15 hours

The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup was the most-watched edition of the international soccer tournament in Canadian history, according to an audience measurement organization.

Numeris says that nearly 31.5 million people — or 77 per cent of Canada — watched the tournament at some point this summer, up from 71 per cent in 2018 and 68 per cent in 2022.

The number of hours watched was also up over the previous two tournaments in Russia and Qatar, with the average viewer taking in 15 hours of matches on Bell Media’s TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo and Crave.

Canada’s men’s national team was eliminated from the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Morocco on July 4 in the Round of 16. The match averaged 5.4 million viewers and reached 11.7 million Canadians, making it the most-watched Canada men’s soccer match on record and the biggest non-final World Cup broadcast in Canadian history.