Australian advertisers are being urged to rethink how they approach live sport ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as new research from Nexxen reveals audiences are becoming more engaged, more platform-fluid and less reliant on national team success than ever before.
The advertising technology platform this week released its 2026 FIFA World Cup Australian Outlook report, using proprietary audience data, historical viewing trends and surveys from more than 1,000 Australians intending to watch the tournament to forecast how fans will consume the global sporting event.
One of the biggest findings from the report is that football fandom in Australia continues to grow, even as viewing habits become increasingly fragmented across linear television, BVOD, streaming and digital devices.
Despite the rise of multi-screen viewing, television remains dominant for major sporting moments, with 88% of viewers still planning to watch matches on TV.
That number climbs even higher for prime viewing windows, reaching 91% for weekday evening matches and 93% for weekend games.
At the same time, Nexxen says advertisers can no longer rely on a single-platform strategy, with 31% of viewers expected to combine linear TV and broadcaster video on demand during the tournament.
The report also highlights how time zones will significantly influence viewing behaviour throughout the competition, with 43% of daytime viewers planning to watch matches on mobile devices or laptops instead of traditional television screens.
Perhaps most significantly for brands, audience engagement is no longer solely tied to the performance of the Australian national team.
According to the report, 79% of intended viewers say they will continue watching the tournament even if Australia is eliminated — an 11-point increase from the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The finding suggests the FIFA World Cup is evolving into a broader entertainment and cultural event for Australian audiences, rather than purely a patriotic viewing occasion.
For advertisers, Nexxen says the shift presents a major opportunity to reach audiences across multiple touchpoints throughout the tournament, particularly as viewers move seamlessly between screens and platforms before, during and after matches.
The company is encouraging marketers to plan for fragmented consumption habits while still prioritising premium, high-attention environments like connected television and live sport.
Through its unified platform, Nexxen says advertisers can activate audience insights across its DSP, SSP and data platform ecosystem, including programmatic access to Nexxen TV Home Screen placements designed to reach viewers during content discovery moments before kick-off and post-game analysis.
The report mirrors similar FIFA audience prediction studies already released by Nexxen across the U.S., Singapore and the U.K., reinforcing the growing global importance of flexible, cross-platform sports advertising strategies.3
