A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as Socceroos advance at FIFA World Cup 2026 – Australia’s third match of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ has become the most-watched World Cup match in SBS history, with the Socceroos’ 0-0 draw against Paraguay attracting a Total TV reach of 4.844 million viewers.
The match, played in San Francisco on Friday 26 June, saw Australia qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament and delivered a Total TV average audience of 3.086 million across linear television and digital streaming.
Almost 47% of the audience watched the match through SBS On Demand, highlighting the growing role of BVOD in major live sporting events.
Socceroos deliver record World Cup result for SBS
The Paraguay v Australia match surpassed the audience for Australia’s earlier match against Türkiye on 14 June, which recorded a VOZ Total TV national average audience of 3.038 million.
The Paraguay match is now the second most-watched broadcast in SBS history, behind the Socceroos’ 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Uruguay, which achieved a national average audience of 3.416 million before the era of digital streaming.
Cumulative Total TV reach for SBS’s coverage of the tournament has now reached 13.9 million, meaning almost half of Australia’s population has watched some of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ so far, with three weeks of the tournament still remaining.
Friday ratings dominated by SBS
SBS’s FIFA World Cup coverage dominated Friday’s free-to-air ratings, with the Paraguay v Australia post-match program attracting 2.872 million viewers and the pre-match program reaching 2.277 million viewers.
Across the day, SBS had the top three programs and five of the top ten, driven by live matches and pre- and post-match coverage.
World Cup matches have consistently ranked in the top ten programs of the day since the tournament began on 12 June, with 27 matches so far reaching more than one million viewers each.
Younger viewers embrace FIFA World Cup coverage
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ has also performed strongly with younger viewers, ranking No.1 on the VOZ daily ratings for 14 of the past 15 days in the 16-39 demographic.
On Friday 26 June, SBS held the top six programs of the day for viewers aged 16-39.
Ken Shipp on SBS’s historic World Cup coverage
SBS Director of Sport Ken Shipp said the tournament had delivered an extraordinary level of engagement for the broadcaster.
“This is a historic FIFA World Cup™ in many ways. In our 40 years of broadcasting the tournament, we’ve never seen Australian engagement at this level.
“Australians have embraced both the Socceroos’ campaign and the wider tournament in extraordinary numbers, demonstrating the enduring passion for football in this country.
“We’ve already witnessed some unforgettable football, and with the knockout rounds about to begin, the tournament is entering its most compelling stage.”
Paraguay v Australia audience breakdown
The Paraguay v Australia live match recorded a Total TV reach of 4.844 million, a Total TV average audience of 3.086 million, and a BVOD contribution of 46.8%.
The pre-match program reached 2.277 million viewers, with a Total TV average audience of 937,000 and a BVOD contribution of 47.0%.
The post-match program reached 2.872 million viewers, with a Total TV average audience of 1.389 million and a BVOD contribution of 41.3%.
Top FIFA World Cup 2026 matches on SBS so far
The top FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches on SBS to 26 June are Paraguay v Australia, Australia v Türkiye, USA v Australia, Haiti v Scotland and Brazil v Morocco.
Paraguay v Australia leads with a Total TV reach of 4.844 million and an average audience of 3.086 million, followed by Australia v Türkiye with a reach of 4.750 million and an average audience of 3.045 million.
USA v Australia reached 3.456 million viewers with an average audience of 2.199 million.
SBS On Demand and social media growth
SBS Sport’s social media platforms have generated more than 369 million video views and 450 million impressions across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube during the tournament.
The Socceroos will next play in Dallas on 4 July at 4am AEST in the Round of 32.
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ continues live, free and exclusively on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand until 20 July AEST.
Link to SBS on Demand HERE
TV Central Football content HERE
