Numbers show no city has embraced watching the World Cup quite like Kansas City
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City leads U.S. local TV markets with a 3.80 rating and 16 share.
- Boston ranks second with a 3.05 rating and 13 share.
- KC’s gap to second is larger than the gap between second and 10th.
Others around the country may scoff at the notion that Kansas City is the Soccer Capital of America, but there is no denying it’s the Soccer Viewing Capital of America.
At least when it comes to this year’s World Cup matches on Fox Sports.
The network released the top local markets for ratings at the halfway point of the tournament. Kansas City is first, and it’s not particularly close. Through the first 54 World Cup matches (out of 104 scheduled), Kansas City has averaged a 3.80 rating and 16 share.
In second is Boston at 3.05, followed by Austin, Texas (3.04). Austin has also seen a 16 share for matches.
The immense viewership totals for Kansas City don’t take into account the number of people watching at the Fan Festival, Power & Light District, Sporting Park or any other watch parties that are being held around the city. It also doesn’t include the nearly 280,000 fans who have watched group-stage matches at Kansas City Stadium (née Arrowhead).
We have entered the knockout stage of the World Cup, and Kansas City will play host to the final Round of 32 match. It’ll be Colombia vs. Ghana at Arrowhead at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Fox said the broadcasters for the match will be Darren Fletcher and Oliver Hargreaves.
Here are the top-10 highest ranked markets for the World Cup matches on Fox. The gap in ratings between first-place KC and second-place is larger than the gap between second and 10th.
- Kansas City: 3.80 rating/16 share
- Boston: 3.05/13
- Austin, Texas: 3.04/16
- Dallas: 2.88/13
- San Diego: 2.86/14
- San Francisco: 2.78/16
- Atlanta: 2.77/13
- Richmond, Virginia: 2.56/10
- Washington, D.C.: 2.55/13
- St. Louis: 2.55/10
This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 9:14 AM.
