Argentina Defeats England in World Cup Semifinal, Sets English-Language Broadcast Viewership Record

2026 World Cup Key News

Central Report

(Central News Agency, Los Angeles, July 17 –综合 international news) According to the American entertainment industry weekly 'Variety,' Fox Broadcasting Company's sports channel continues to break television viewership records this week. Argentina's comeback victory over England in the World Cup semifinal became the most-watched World Cup semifinal in the history of English-language television broadcasts.

Reuters reported that on the 15th, Fox Sports' broadcast of Argentina's 2-1 victory over England attracted an average of 15.063 million viewers, significantly surpassing the previous record set just the day before, when Spain's 2-0 win over France drew an average of 11.462 million viewers.

The match, featuring a direct clash between Argentina's Lionel Messi and England captain Harry Kane in Atlanta, USA, reached a peak viewership of 22.177 million between 4:45 PM and 5:00 PM Eastern Time on the 15th.

In comparison, Fox Sports' coverage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup semifinals averaged only 6.531 million viewers, with the France vs. Morocco match peaking at 6.595 million. Prior to this week, that was the highest viewership record for a World Cup semifinal in English-language television history.

Additionally, the UK's 'Radio Times' reported that the 'England vs. Argentina' clash was the most-watched live television program in the UK this year, attracting a peak of 24 million viewers (85% of total TV audience at the time), with an average of 22.1 million viewers across BBC One and the streaming platform BBC iPlayer.

The 'England vs. Argentina' match was also the most-watched game of this World Cup in the UK, surpassing the previous record set by ITV1's broadcast of England's quarterfinal victory over Norway, which reached a maximum of 16.8 million viewers.

It was also the most-watched live program on BBC since the 2021 broadcast of England's loss to Italy in the final of the 2020 UEFA European Championship.

The World Cup final will take place on the 19th in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where defending champions Argentina will face 2024 UEFA European Championship winners Spain.

England and France will play the third-place match tomorrow in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Intern translator: Huang Yuhang / Reviewer: Hong Peiying) 1150717

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