Nexxen’s 2026 World Cup Forecast Helps Advertisers Plan for Fragmented TV Landscape
New research and proprietary insights reveal where fans will watch, and how quickly audiences may shift if streaming access expands
NEW YORK, Jan. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nexxen, a global, flexible advertising technology platform with deep expertise in data and advanced TV, today launched a new predictions report on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, leveraging Nexxen’s proprietary data and resources to track past, present and future audience behavior. Through data-driven forecasts based on historical trends and current analysis, the report offers advertisers directional insights into how, and where, fans will be watching and engaging, helping them guide planning,
With the tournament coming to North America and expanding to 48 teams, Nexxen’s report highlights a key reality for marketers: World Cup audiences are growing, but viewing is splintering faster than ever across streaming and linear environments.
Specifically, it reveals several shifts for which advertisers should be planning, including:
- U.S. interest in soccer is up by 48% – North America hosting has emerged as a top driver of increased interest
- Streaming has become the default for a significant share of fans, with 43% planning to watch via streaming/apps and virtual multichannel video programming distributors (“vMVPDs”), reflecting a 14% jump from 2022
- If free streaming options appear, as they did just before the Super Bowl in 2025, fans will move fast — 87% say they would watch matches on a free ad-supported streaming (“FAST”) service, if it becomes available
- “Where to watch” confusion is widespread, with 90% of intended viewers incorrectly naming at least one platform they believe will carry matches
Through Nexxen’s unified platform – spanning a supply-side platform (“SSP”) and demand-side platform (“DSP”), with the Nexxen Data Platform at its core – as well as solutions like the recently launched Nexxen Sports, advertisers can activate these insights to reach and engage fans across screens, even as viewing shifts.
The report combines data from Nexxen Discovery, the company’s proprietary planning and insights tool that tracks audience behaviour across screens, with analysis of historical viewing patterns and a 2025 consumer survey of 1,000+ U.S. adults (English- and Spanish-speaking) intending to watch the tournament.
Nexxen's full 2026 FIFA World Cup predictions report is available now.
About Nexxen
Nexxen empowers advertisers, agencies, publishers and broadcasters around the world to utilize data and advanced TV in the ways that are most meaningful to them. Our flexible and unified technology stack comprises a demand-side platform (DSP) and supply-side platform (SSP), with the Nexxen Data Platform at its core. With streaming in our DNA, Nexxen’s robust capabilities span discovery, planning, activation, monetization, measurement and optimization – available individually or in combination – all designed to enable our partners to achieve their goals, no matter how far-reaching or hyper niche they may be.
Nexxen is headquartered in Israel and maintains offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and is traded on the Nasdaq (NEXN). For more information, visit
Forward-Looking Statements
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For more information, please contact:
Genevieve Wheeler
Communications Director
