FIFA World Cup 2026: How Fans in Five Swing States Will Watch and What It Means for Campaigns
The 2026 FIFA World Cup promises to be a massive cultural phenomenon: 48 teams, 104 matches across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., and an audience unlike any other. The massive global event captures the attention of more than 65% of the planet, described as “104 Super Bowls in one month,” and is projected to draw over 29 million American viewers.
For campaigns and civic groups working in five politically competitive states — Maine, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and Ohio — the tournament is more than a sporting event. It’s a month-long window of attention to reach diverse, engaged audiences where they’re already watching.
How Audiences Watch
When digging into our data-driven insights, we found that traditional TV dominated FIFA viewing in 2022 — 84% of viewers watched only on traditional TV, 10% streamed only, and 6% used both. With 79% of soccer fans in the U.S. falling within the millennials or Gen Z demographic, the FIFA World Cup will attract a younger, highly engaged, and deeply multicultural audience that is more likely to consume content across streaming, mobile, and social platforms.
Per our internal data, roughly 40% of U.S. World Cup viewing is in Spanish; Spanish-language viewers are about 3 times more likely to stream, and half of Spanish/ bilingual viewers use both linear and streaming. As political ad buyers know, these patterns matter for targeting, message timing, and creative language, and make it a critical opportunity for campaigns looking to connect with diverse next-generation voters.
Competitive State Breakdown
Georgia
Georgia’s mix of Atlanta’s big-city media market and rapidly changing suburbs makes it a high-reward place to engage World Cup fans. Large Black and Hispanic populations, along with tech-savvy younger viewers, means streaming is an incredibly important tool to reach key voter audiences. In fact, our internal data shows that avid FIFA viewers in Georgia are 1.15 times more likely to vote in a Democratic primary than the general state population, making them a highly valuable audience for targeted voter outreach and persuasion efforts. Using Spanish-language creative across streaming platforms helps to further speak to those segments.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s growth hubs, like Charlotte and Raleigh, are attracting younger residents who use media differently. Buyers should anticipate hybrid viewing patterns, with major matches still drawing strong linear audiences, while college students and newer fans skew heavily toward streaming. Additionally, our data shows avid World Cup viewers in North Carolina are 1.7 times more likely to be Latino with an English-language preference, representing 8% of the overall avid World Cup viewership and a key persuadable demographic. The strongest strategies will combine event-day placement with targeted OTT and mobile video to reach those younger voters, supported with localized Spanish messaging to connect with Hispanic communities.
Michigan
Detroit’s diverse population and a rising soccer fandom among Black Americans create a streaming-forward audience in urban areas and strong second-screen engagement. Notably, World Cup viewers in Michigan are 7.4 times more likely to support LGBT rights and 11 times more likely to be interested in women’s sports, signaling progressive values and broader cultural engagement that align with key Democratic priorities. Short-form social content, streaming pre-roll, and community watch-party support will help translate fandom into civic engagement or turnout.
Ohio
Ohio’s major markets — Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati — offer a mix of strong linear viewership and large streaming pockets in urban centers. Our internal data reveals that World Cup viewers in Ohio are 9.7 times more likely to be avid golf viewers, suggesting an affluent, sports-engaged audience that can be reached through premium programming and cross-sport messaging. To connect with high-value Spanish-language segments, lean into targeted streaming in metropolitan precincts.
Maine
Maine skews older and less diverse, with slightly lower streaming adoption overall, but pockets of younger people around universities are reliable digital-first audiences. Importantly, our data shows that avid World Cup viewers in Maine are 2.9 times more likely to be cord-cutters than the general population, making streaming and digital platforms essential for reaching this engaged segment even in a market where traditional TV still delivers strong reach.
Practical audience plays that work everywhere:
Use linear TV to drive broad reach and streaming to deliver precise targeting. Big-match broadcasts scale quickly, while streaming reaches younger and multicultural viewers where they’re most engaged. The most effective campaigns combine traditional and streaming TV into a unified strategy on the primary household screen, regardless of how or where audiences tune in.
Speak the language and the culture. Bilingual and Spanish-language creative isn’t just translation; it’s resonance. Half of Spanish/bilingual viewers use both linear and streaming, so serve culturally relevant messages across platforms.
Meet viewers (and voters) on mobile and social. World Cup fans will be second-screening throughout matches, checking highlights, stats, and social reactions on their phones, so short-form content timed for pre-game, halftime, and post-game windows will be key.
Activate locally. Watch parties, partnerships with local leagues, bar/restaurant sponsorships, and influencer-driven events turn passive viewers into communities you can engage with in the long term.
The World Cup is a uniquely social and multicultural event. In key competitive states, the smartest ad plays will combine the scale of linear with the cultural precision of streaming and social. For campaigns and issue groups, that means being where fans are — with messages that understand and reflect their cultures, at the moments they’re most engaged.