December 11 – NBCUniversal is close to selling out its World Cup ad inventory on Telemundo, and the tournament is still more than six months away.
The company says Telemundo has moved 90 percent of its available spots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which it will carry exclusively in Spanish across the U.S. That’s double the advertiser spend the network saw during the run-up to the 2022 tournament.
And the list of buyers is an impressive who’s who of America’s biggest company’s including Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Diageo, McDonald’s, Toyota, Volkswagen of America, and Xfinity.
“The growth of soccer in the United States coupled with the domestic nature of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and rising demand for both live sports and Spanish language content has proved to be the winning formula for our company, as NBCUniversal sits in its strongest position ever this far out from a FIFA World Cup tournament,” said Peter Lazarus, Executive Vice President of NBC Sports & Olympics, Advertising and Partnerships.
“The upcoming competition in Spanish-language on Telemundo and Peacock will captivate a highly engaged and passionate audience that our partners are eager to connect with, and we are excited to deliver both brands and fans a world-class experience this summer.”
Monica Gil, Chief Administrative and Marketing Officer of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said the demand tells a larger story about the market. “The unprecedented demand for the World Cup 2026 underscores the undeniable power of Latino fans as an economic engine shaping the future of sports and culture in America,” she said.
“Advertisers recognise the opportunity this moment presents — a once-in-a-lifetime tournament taking place across North America — to drive engagement, loyalty, and cultural relevance at scale. Telemundo is uniquely positioned to deliver on that opportunity, and the response from the marketplace reaffirms our ability to connect brands with fans through the power and excitement of live sports.”
With the tournament set to dominate the U.S. sports calendar for more than a month, it raises a natural question among brands and advertising agencies: “Will the World Cup final ever reach Super Bowl territory and get to the point where advertisers are paying a million dollars for 30 seconds?” The audience is global, the demand is rising, and based on how quickly these spots are vanishing, the ceiling might be a lot higher than anyone thought a few years ago.