The FIFA Women’s World Cup Final last Sunday averaged only 2.21 million viewers across Fox, Telemundo, Universo, and Peacock. The championship game played in Sydney, Australia saw Spain defeat England 1-0. Both squads were vying for their first World Cup title. There were several reasons for the subpar viewing.

The two-time defending champion (and pre-tournament favorite) U.S. was knocked out in the Round of 16. It was Team TISI USA’s earliest dismissal of any Women’s World Cup. Also, the title game was played in Sydney Australia and televised live Sunday morning starting in the lower rated time period of 6 a.m. (ET) and 3 a.m. (PT). As a result, the viewing dropped by a whopping 75% from the 2019 World Cup Final and was 87% lower than the high-water mark set in 2015.

In the knockout Group Stage matches, the audience delivery for Team USA had been strong. The opening game on July 21 saw the United States defeat Vietnam 3-0. The game airing in primetime averaged 5.3 million viewers on Fox. The network said the audience delivery was an increase of 99% from the first U.S. game of 2019.

The next game on July 26, saw the United States tie the Netherlands 1-1. With another optimal start time, the game averaged 6.43 million viewers on Fox, an increase of 21% from the corresponding game from 2019. In addition, Fox said it was the most watched group stage game ever in the U.S.

The third and final group stage game was played in the overnight hours in the U.S. on August 1. The U.S. advanced to the Group of 16 by tying Portugal 0-0. The game averaged 1.35 million viewers on Fox. Collectively, the three games had averaged a record audience of 4.3 million viewers in the U.S. Also, the group stage matches on NBCU’s Telemundo and Peacock delivered an average audience of 911,000 viewers, a 57% increase from 2019.

The women’s squad was eliminated in the Group of 16 match against Sweden losing in penalty kicks. The match started at 5 a.m. (ET) on Sunday August 6. For the game, Fox averaged 2.5 million viewers. In total, the four games on Fox averaged 3.8 million viewers, an increase compared to the first four games in 2019.

The World Cup did produce record ratings globally. According to Barlovento Comunicacion, Spain's first Women’s World Cup title delivered an average audience of 5.6 million. The game was televised on over-the air network La 1 in becoming the most watched women’s soccer game in Spain.

With England playing in the Final, the game on BBC One delivered 12 million viewers, a record audience for a women’s World Cup match in the U.K. In addition, it ranked as the second most watched television program in the U.K. of the year, behind the coronation of King Charles III. The game also generated 3.9 million views on the digital platforms of BBC One. The match also aired on ITV.

Also, England’s semifinal win over host country Australia averaged 7 million viewers in the U.K. The game had averaged 7.2 million viewers in Australia’s Channel Seven, a record for any women’s soccer match in one of the host countries.

In other European markets, the ratings for the World Cup Final were generally lower when compared to 2019. This was primarily because the game started in midday instead of late afternoon. For example, according to SportBusiness, in France, the World Cup Final averaged 2.7 million viewers on France 2. In 2019, with France the host country, the World Cup Final averaged 6 million viewers on TF1 and Canal Plus.

In Italy, the World Cup finale was televised on Rai Sport (instead of the main network) and averaged a subpar 499,000 viewers. The game was also streamed on Rai Play. In Germany, the audience for the finale actually generated an increase in with an average 5.4 million viewers on ZDF. In 2019 the championship game averaged 5.1 million viewers primarily on ARD. For Sunday’s World Cup Final, Norway’s NRK channel had an average audience of 218,000 viewers for the title game, a drop-off from 334,000 in 2019.

England’s defeat of China, in a Group Stage match averaged 53.9 million in China, the most watched individual game in any country. Globally, FIFA expects the Women’s World Cup to reach two billion viewers, compared to 1.19 billion in the 2019 tournament.

In the U.S., the 2019 World Cup finale, played in Lyon, France, saw the U.S. defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win their fourth World Cup title. With an 11 a.m. (ET) start time, the championship game averaged a combined audience of 16.9 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo. Fox averaged 15.6 million and Telemundo averaged 1.3 million. FIFA said globally, the game averaged 82.18 million viewers.

The 2015 World Cup Final, played in Vancouver and was televised live in prime time across most of the United States. With an optimal time period and Team USA handily defeating Japan 5-2, the match averaged 26.7 million viewers, the most watched women’s soccer match in the U.S. For the game, Fox averaged 25.4 million viewers and Telemundo averaged 1.3 million.

Over the past 25 years, each Women’s World Cup Final that involved Team USA has exceeded 13 million viewers. The 2011 World Cup title match averaged 13 .5 million viewers on ESPN. The game was played in Frankfort, Germany with Japan defeating the United States in a penalty kick shoot-out. In the 1999 World Cup Final, the United States defeated China in penalty kicks. The game was played in the Rose Bowl and averaged 17.9 million viewers on ABC.

By comparison, Sports Media Watch reported the 2003 World Cup Final played in Carson, California averaged 1.2 million viewers on ABC. In that World Cup Final, Germany defeated Sweden in extra time. The 2007 World Cup championship game, from Shanghai, China, averaged only 664,000 viewers on ESPN2. In that finale Germany defeated Brazil.

For the 2023 Women’s World Cup FIFA expanded the field to 32 nations, increasing the number of matches to 64. For the tournament, FIFA increased its payout to $110 million, up from $30 million in 2019. Also, with more matches, the 2023 tournament had over 1.9 million spectators, surpassing the 1.35 million fans that attended the 2015 World Cup matches. The average attendance for the 2023 games was nearly 31,000, outpacing 2015 when the average was 26,000.

Amid the success of the World Cup, Front Office Sports report Australia and New Zealand are separately looking into the possibility of hosting an upcoming FIFA Men’s World Cup. The 2026 Men’s World Cup will be played in North America. In 2030 several groups including Uruguay–Argentina–Chile–Paraguay and Spain–Portugal–Ukraine–Morocco have already expressed an interest.

FIFA has yet to announce the host nation (or nations) for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Those in the running include South Africa, Brazil and a joint bid from the Belgium-Germany-Netherlands