First FIFA World Cup game scores STV its highest audience of the year

The opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup drew a peak audience of 794,000 on STV and STV Player last night – the channel’s highest audience of the year so far.

The clash between tournament co-hosts Mexico and South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca also earned STV its highest peak audience since November 2024, when an episode of I’m a Celebrity peaked at 840,000 viewers.

Moreover, last night’s audience was up +12% on the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when hosts Qatar took on Ecuador.

Richard Williams, Managing Director of Audience at STV, said: “What a brilliant start to the World Cup, delivering our highest audience of the year so far – with so much more to come! We’re hugely excited about the rest of the competition, which underscores the unique power that shared experiences like this have to bring audiences together in a truly special way.”

29 live group stage matches of the 2026 tournament will air on STV and STV Player throughout the month, including Scotland v Morocco on Friday 19 June, which STV will broadcast live from Boston’s Gillette Stadium from 10pm.