The World Cup final on RTÉ drew an average audience of one million viewers and 1.4 million streams on RTÉ Player, making it the most-watched and most-streamed event in the platform's history. Other knockout matches also saw strong viewership, with the England v Argentina semi-final attracting 949,000 average viewers and one million streams. RTÉ has also secured exclusive Irish free-to-air rights for the 2030 World Cup, to be hosted across Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and South America. Across the entire 2026 tournament, RTÉ audiences generated 23.4 million streams, nearly tripling the 8.5 million streams recorded during the 2022 World Cup.
SUNDAY’S WORLD CUP final was the most-watched match of the tournament on RTÉ, attracting an average audience of one million viewers. The game also had 1.4 million streams on the RTÉ Player, making the game the most-streamed single event in the RTÉ Player’s history.
England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina had an average audience of 949,000, with one million streams on RTÉ Player. The France v Spain semi-final had an average audience of 873,000 and a further one million streams on RTÉ Player, while the England v Norway quarter-final brought an average audience of 787,000, with another million streams.
Advertisement RTÉ have also confirmed that it has secured exclusive Irish free-to-air rights to the 2030 World Cup, to be held across Spain, Portugal and Morocco along with three centenary games in South America. Across the 2026 tournament as a whole, RTÉ audiences generated 23.4 million streams, an increase of almost 15 million streams and nearly three times the audience achieved during the 2022 World Cup, which recorded 8.5 million streams.
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