English‑speaking Americans watch World Cup in Spanish on Telemundo

A sizable number of English‑speaking viewers in the United States are tuning into Spanish‑language broadcasts of the 2026 World Cup on Telemundo. Ashleigh Hallam, an ESL teacher in Indiana, said, “I can’t really understand everything they’re saying on Telemundo because they’re speaking in Spanish, but you understand what’s going on.” Others, such as Michigan native Jackson Braunius, watch for the uninterrupted coverage of hydration breaks and the iconic “¡goooooool!” calls of announcer Andrés Cantor.

Telemundo’s ratings show roughly half of all U.S. World Cup viewers have watched at least part of a match in Spanish, despite Hispanics comprising about 20% of the population. A peak viewership of around 41 million was recorded for the Belgium‑U.S. match, and the average audience for the final U.S. game reached about 45 million between Fox (33 million) and Telemundo (≈12 million), the highest‑rated soccer telecast in U.S. history.

Comedian Trevor Noah, hosting watch parties on YouTube, praised the Spanish feed for its continuity and excitement, noting that commercial breaks on English networks “lose the stress, you lose the joy, you lose the anticipation.” The strong performance may influence future rights negotiations, with speculation that English‑ and Spanish‑language packages could be bundled for the 2030 World Cup.