TelevisaUnivision, the Mexican-American media giant, has reported impressive viewership figures for its coverage of Copa America 2024 matches. The company is broadcasting all 32 matches of the tournament on Univision and TUDN, which are currently the exclusive Spanish-language platforms for the competition in the United States.
According to TelevisaUnivision, five of this year's most-watched programs on Spanish-language television were Copa America 2024 matches. The networks also concluded the group stage of the tournament with record-breaking viewership numbers. A significant factor contributing to this surge was attributed to Mexico's national team - El Tri.
El Tri is undeniably one of the most popular foreign teams in America. Consequently, TelevisaUnivision recorded remarkable early-tournament viewership numbers. Mexico’s opening Group B match against Jamaica averaged 2.5 million viewers while their subsequent fixture against Venezuela drew an average audience of 2.7 million four days later. Mexico then faced Ecuador in a crucial match that determined their advancement into knockout rounds; this game attracted a whopping three million total viewers for TelevisaUnivision.
Messi mania fuels viewership
Despite Mexico’s exit from Copa America putting a dent in TelevisaUnivison’s figures, Lionel Messi mania kept audiences glued to their screens. Despite his advancing age, Messi remains one of soccer's biggest stars worldwide and his influence was evident throughout Argentina's games during this competition.
Messi’s opening Group A game against Canada averaged 1.83 million viewers while Argentina’s next matchup against Chile recorded an audience size of approximately 2.1 million across both networks.
Interestingly enough, when Messi sat out during Argentina's final group-stage game versus Peru due to injury concerns, there was a slight dip in viewership to 1.7 million. However, the game still topped the Spanish-language broadcast charts for that night and outperformed its nearest competition by 66%.
Younger audience engagement
TelevisaUnivision reported that nearly half of their viewership for Messi's quarterfinal match against Ecuador were fans aged between 18 and 49. This game outperformed its competition by a significant margin of 48% among viewers in this demographic.
TelevisaUnivision’s coverage of the four Copa America 2024 quarterfinals averaged an impressive audience size of approximately 2.4 million viewers per match. The most-watched match during this phase was Brazil vs Uruguay, which attracted an audience size of about 2.9 million on Univision/TUDN, making it the highest-rated primetime program on that night across all languages.
English-language broadcasts also see spike
FOX’s English-language broadcasts of Copa America are also experiencing a surge in popularity with an average group stage viewership announced at around 1.1 million per game; however, only games involving USMNT and Messi's Argentina could compete with TelevisaUnivision’s overall figures.
TelevisaUnivision has successfully capitalized on the popularity of soccer stars like El Tri and Lionel Messi to achieve record-breaking numbers during their coverage of Copa America 2024.
