The second week of the 2026 World Cup presented audience data that goes beyond traditional ratings. The latest report from Samsung Ads Mexico, corresponding to the period from June 15 to 21, reveals that the tournament not only increased the consumption of sports content on Smart TVs but also structurally modified the browsing habits of Mexican audiences.
During that week, more than 6.7 million Samsung Smart TVs were connected in Mexico, generating more than 158 million hours of consumption. 86% of viewing time corresponded to streaming applications and 14% to traditional linear channels. World Cup matches accumulated 44 million hours of viewing, with an average of 105 minutes consumed per device per match and an average of six games watched per Smart TV during the week. The interest in the tournament also boosted a 21% growth in audience per match and a 13% growth in consumption time compared to the weeks before the tournament started.
The match between Mexico and South Korea was the most impactful event of the week. The broadcast registered 2.3 million devices connected simultaneously, an increase of 58% in devices and 53% in viewing time compared to usual behavior prior to the World Cup.
The most relevant finding for the advertising industry is not in the rating figures, but in what happens before and after the matches. Samsung Ads detected that 50% of the devices that followed the Mexico vs. South Korea match were already connected an hour before the start, and 80% remained active once the broadcast ended. In the rest of the analyzed matches, seven out of ten devices remained connected after the final whistle. Matches are acting as triggers for additional content consumption within the Smart TV ecosystem, significantly expanding the window of opportunity for platforms and advertisers.
Consumption fragmentation also grew. 31% of devices followed the matches using at least two different applications or channels during the week, a figure that rose to 50% during the match between Mexico and South Korea. Visits to the Smart TV home screen grew by 30% compared to previous weeks, reaching an average of 5.9 daily accesses, which increased to 6.4 on the day of the National Team's match.
For the next+ team, Samsung Ads' data confirms something that the advertising ecosystem urgently needs to incorporate into its media planning: the World Cup's impact window is not the match itself. It is the behavioral ecosystem that the match activates. That 80% of devices remain connected after the final whistle and that half of the users who watched Mexico were already in front of the screen an hour before the match redefines where and when the most attentive audiences are available during the tournament. For brands planning CTV activations during the World Cup, this data suggests that the most valuable inventories are not necessarily in-match spots, but those that capture the user in moments of greatest intent to continue consuming, immediately before and after the match, when the audience is equally large but inventory competition is considerably lower.