The FIFA World Cup 2026 recorded 46.99 million unique viewers on ZEE5 during the tournament, according to viewership data released by Chrome DM COTT, India’s OTT audience measurement platform.

The report covers the tournament from June 12 to July 12, 2026. It said the quarter finals July 10 to 12 alone attracted 34.75 million unique viewers, accounting for 73.9 percent of the full tournament’s total viewership in just three days.

According to a Chrome DM COTT press release, male viewers accounted for 41.45 million 88 percent of the total audience during the tournament, while female viewers stood at 5.53 million 12 percent. During the quarter finals, 31.70 million male viewers 91 percent and 3.05 million female viewers 9 percent watched the matches.

The report said the male 25 to 35 age group was the largest audience segment, with 16.58 million viewers, followed by the male 18 to 24 segment 12.44 million. Among female viewers, the 25 to 35 age group led with 2.10 million viewers.

State wise, West Bengal recorded the highest viewership at 9.59 million, followed by the Northeast 7.33 million , Kerala (6.20 million), Karnataka (5.92 million) and Tamil Nadu (4.41 million).

The report also found that 26.73 million viewers watched the tournament on mobile devices, while 6.16 million watched on Connected TVs (CTV). Another 14.10 million viewers watched the tournament on both mobile and CTV devices.

Commenting on the findings, Riya Maity, Business Head at Chrome Digital, said the FIFA World Cup 2026 on ZEE5 attracted 46.99 million viewers during the tournament, with 34.75 million viewers watching the quarter-finals alone.

She added that the strong viewership from West Bengal, the Northeast and Kerala highlights India’s major football markets, while the 6.16 million CTV viewers indicate growing large-screen consumption of live sports.