The news: The World Cup is establishing Telemundo as a core ad spend platform to reach US Spanish-language viewers—and even some English speakers. Nearly half (48%) of group stage viewers watched at least one game in Spanish, per The Wrap. Telemundo topped the Spanish-language TV network charts between June 11 and July 5, the company said.

• World Cup viewership on Telemundo nearly doubled in just 9 days, per NBCU, jumping from 12.3 million viewers for the June 24 Mexico vs. Czechia match to 23.2 million for the July 5 Mexico vs. England match. That was the most-watched soccer match by total audience in Spanish-language media history, NBCU said.
• US Spanish-language viewership for games featuring Latin American countries was higher than even US matches. The US vs. Belgium match attracted 12 million viewers against Mexico vs. England’s 23.1 million, per Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

Fervor for the Mexican team grew due to a historic run in which it conceded no goals until its elimination—but the viewership discrepancy also reveals a clear tilt toward content directly relevant to Spanish speakers. Mexicans are the largest Spanish-speaking diaspora in the United States, representing 57% of Hispanics (40 million people), per Pew Research.

Zooming out: The World Cup’s viewership records have sparked a feeding frenzy for rights to subsequent tournaments. Netflix, Disney, and YouTube are all considering bids of up to $2 billion for the next two tournaments, including for Spanish-language rights.

US Hispanics are establishing themselves as a fast-growing viewer demographic with strong purchasing power and interest in non-sports content.

• US Hispanics are more likely to watch digital video content than the average US consumer; 84.1% of Hispanic consumers will watch digital video this year, compared with 81.1% of the overall population. That viewership is also helping non-World Cup content: Nearly 80% of World Cup viewers on Peacock are also watching unrelated programming, including Spanish-language telenovelas and “Love Island USA,” The Wrap reports.
• Hispanic viewers also have strong purchase intent. Nearly three-quarters of US Hispanics said they believe companies that advertise in Spanish respect their culture and want their business, per an MRI-Simmons report surveying 4,000 English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanics.
• And more than half of US Hispanics are under the age of 35, making them an especially valuable demographic for advertisers, per EMARKETER.