Fans consumed over 250 TB of wireless data during the 13 matches hosted in Canada
Bell Media announced Tuesday that 30.5 million unique Canadian viewers overall tuned into live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo and Crave, according to preliminary data from Numeris.
The 104 tournament matches at FIFA World Cup 2026 attracted a per-game average audience of 1.6 million viewers, an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to the 2022 tournament held in Qatar, Bell Media said in a press release.
The 2026 final on Sunday became the most-watched FIFA World Cup match ever in Canada, with an average audience of 6.4 million viewers on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo and Crave, according to Numeris data cited by Bell Media. Overall, 14.6 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in for some part of the final, which saw audiences peak with 9.05 million viewers at 5:57 p.m. ET as Spain secured its 1-0 win over Argentina in extra time for the second FIFA World Cup championship in its history. Streaming audiences were up more than 200 per cent compared to the 2022 final, Bell Media said.
The second most-watched match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament was Canada’s Round of 16 match against Morocco on July 4, with an average audience of 5.4 million viewers, which is the most-watched non-final World Cup match on record in Canada, according to Bell Media.
Canadians consumed more than 400 million hours of FIFA World Cup 2026 live matches, an increase of nearly 160 per cent compared to the 2022 tournament, Bell Media said.
In addition, TSN’s social media accounts saw “massive fan engagement”, according to Bell Media’s press release, including more than 1.2 billion video views and more than 2.5 billion impressions. There were more than 91 million views for FIFA World Cup 2026 content on TSN’s YouTube channel, Bell Media added.
Throughout the tournament, FIFA World Cup 2026 live matches consistently ranked among the most-watched content on Crave, Bell Media said.
“With thrilling matches, passionate fans here on home soil in stadiums and on the streets, and the history-making performance of Canada’s Men’s National Team, Canadians will never forget FIFA World Cup 2026,” Shawn Redmond, vice president of Bell Media Sports, said in the media company’s press release. “On behalf of the whole team at TSN and RDS, we were honoured to give audiences across the country a front row seat to a phenomenal month of international sport at its highest level. My biggest congratulations goes out to our talented team members across every department, whose skill and dedication was on full display not just during this tournament, but in the years leading up to it. The effort they put into this once-in-a-lifetime event was the driving force that made our multi-platform coverage an overwhelming success.”
Bell Media’s press release said the foundation of TSN’s exclusive live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament “was built on an expansive, years-long investment in Canadian soccer and Canada’s Men’s National Team. This investment included ongoing news, analysis, digital and social media content, podcasts, in-depth original features highlighting Canadian players, and live specials on the tournament’s Final Draw, the announcement of Canada’s roster, and more.”
During the tournament, TSN’s live production was focused around the network’s purpose-built studio at Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza, which became a gathering place for fans to watch matches.
In a separate press release Tuesday, parent company Bell said fans consumed a total of more than 250 TB of wireless data during the 13 matches hosted in Canada (seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto) across BC Place and Toronto Stadium, surrounding venues and official watch parties — the equivalent of sharing more than 50 million photos or streaming 83,000 hours of HD video, according to Bell. The telecom said it also carried an additional 80 TB of wireless data across official FIFA fan festivals and municipal fan zones in Toronto and Vancouver for a total of 330 TB of wireless traffic.
“Bell’s industry-leading network powered FIFA World Cup operations in Canada, with Bell’s teams designing, developing and managing the connectivity infrastructure for Toronto and Vancouver, delivering secure, resilient and highly reliable service for FIFA, broadcasters, media partners and fans,” reads Bell’s press release. “Behind the scenes, Bell’s command centre operated more than 10 hours per day throughout the tournament, supported by over 100 Bell team members and more than 15 external partners. Through continuous monitoring, real-time optimization and rapid response capabilities, Bell ensured seamless connectivity across stadiums, media facilities, Fan Zones, and FIFA Master Control Centre in Dallas.”
Bell said AI-powered tools helped its team to stay ahead of the play, “delivering live reporting, flagging customer trends and monitoring social media signals to identify potential issues before they could affect customers during one of the busiest live-event periods in Bell’s history.”
To prepare for the tournament, Bell invested more than $25 million to enhance its network capacity in Toronto and Vancouver, including nearly tripling capacity at Toronto Stadium (BMO Field), deploying four temporary cell towers (known as Cells on Wheels) and upgrading more than 45 network sites across key venues and fan zones.
“Hosting FIFA World Cup matches in Canada was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to position our country on the world stage, and Bell was honoured to deliver the connectivity and broadcast experience for fans, visitors, businesses and communities across the country,” Mirko Bibic, Bell president and CEO, said in Bell’s press release. “As the official Canadian broadcaster of FIFA World Cup 2026, Bell Media brought the tournament to millions of viewers, while our 5G+ Advanced network helped keep Canadians connected throughout every match. At Bell, connection is everything, and we’re proud to have helped power this historic moment for Canadians.”
Screenshot of Spain’s men’s national team celebrating their FIFA World Cup 2026 victory from Bell Media’s website
