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Fox Pulls 24.9 M for Paraguay Match, ESPN Hits 12-Hour Delay

6/17/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Fox Sports aired the U.S.–Paraguay World Cup match and drew a combined 24.9 million viewers (15.99 million English, 8.9 million Spanish).
Fox, which holds exclusive U.S. rights under a $485 million 2026 FIFA World Cup deal, expects final-match ratings to top 25 million viewers.
Because FIFA limits non-rights-holder clips, ESPN must wait until Fox finishes its daily programming, resulting in a 12-hour delay for World Cup highlights.

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Story summary

Fox Sports aired the U.S.–Paraguay World Cup match and drew a combined 24.9 million viewers (15.99 million English, 8.9 million Spanish).
Fox, which holds exclusive U.S. rights under a $485 million 2026 FIFA World Cup deal, expects final-match ratings to top 25 million viewers.
Because FIFA limits non-rights-holder clips, ESPN must wait until Fox finishes its daily programming, resulting in a 12-hour delay for World Cup highlights.