Never before in the history of the FIFA World Cup have there been as many matches as there were in 2026. A total of 104 matches were played, most of which Hungarian viewers could watch on M4 Sport, while a few matches were broadcast on the Duna World channel due to overlapping events at the end of the group stage. Two weeks after the World Cup, it’s worth looking back at which matches drew the largest audiences, based on viewership data.
The World Cup final was the most-watched program of the year so far
According to data from Nielsen Közönségmérés Kft., the final—in which Spain defeated Argentina 1–0 after extra time—drew an average of 1,502,352 viewers across the entire population via television. This made the broadcast on M4 Sport the most-watched TV program of 2026 so far, at least when considering only linear broadcasts; after all, the event could also be followed online on the M4 Sport website and on Médiaklik. In the case of the online platforms, the public broadcaster reported an audience of 227,000 on the day following the World Cup final.
Interestingly, only two other television programs in Hungary have come close to this figure so far this year. On January 1, TV2 reached 1,468,431 viewers with the film *How Could I Live Without You?*. Many believed even then that no channel would achieve higher viewership than this throughout the year, but ultimately, RTL also came close with its broadcast of the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest. An average of 1,430,219 viewers tuned in to watch the match on television, which is a truly outstanding figure, but it wasn’t quite enough to break the record set up to that point. However, the picture is somewhat nuanced by the fact that many people watched the Champions League final via the RTL+ streaming service; based on linear TV viewership figures, though, we had to wait until the World Cup to reach 1.5 million viewers.
What about the other matches?
As the World Cup heated up, the matches attracted increasing attention. An average of 1,027,898 people across the entire population tuned in to the England-Argentina semifinal, placing the match—broadcast by M4 Sport—in second place on the Week 29 viewership chart, though it also took the bottom spot on the podium that week. The excitement of the bronze medal match between France and England drew 636,658 viewers despite the late start time, so it wasn’t just the fact that the English won 6–4 and a total of 10 goals were scored that piqued so many people’s interest afterward.
However, the bronze medal match still didn’t make the top three when compared to the viewership numbers of other World Cup matches. The round of 16 match between Portugal and Spain was the week’s top-rated game with 937,407 viewers. Behind that, the Spain-Belgium quarterfinal took fourth place on the overall World Cup viewership list (731,277 viewers), while the fifth-most-watched match was the Brazil-Norway clash (647,949 viewers). This round of 16 match proved sufficient for M4 Sport to win the ratings race for the entire 27th week.
In the six weeks since the World Cup began, there was only one instance during the group stage when a non-World Cup match topped the relevant lists. In Week 25, for example, RTL’s and TV2’s news programs both outperformed the live broadcast of the group stage match between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latter was watched by an average of 570,163 viewers across the entire population, but there were matches during the group stage that generated even higher viewership figures.
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The 10 most-watched matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Hungary among the entire population
1. Final (July 19): Spain vs. Argentina
AMR (people): 1,502,352
2. Semifinal (July 15): England vs. Argentina
AMR (people): 1,027,898
3. Round of 16 (July 6): Portugal vs. Spain
AMR (people): 937,407
4. Quarterfinal (July 10): Spain vs. Belgiumú
AMR (people): 731,277
5. Round of 16 (July 5): Brazil vs. Norway
AMR (people): 647,949
6. Third-Place Match (July 18): France vs. England
AMR (people): 636,658
7. Group Stage Match (June 22): Argentina vs. Austria
AMR (people): 612,860
8. Group Stage Match (June 14): Germany vs. Curaçao
AMR (people): 595,478
9. Round of 16 (July 2): Spain vs. Austria
AMR (people): 579,436
10. Group Stage Match (June 17): Portugal vs. DR Congo
AMR (people): 570,163
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