England games were big draw again, as RTÉ secure rights to 2030 World Cup

RTE's World Cup team

RTÉ has already confirmed it will have exclusive Irish free-to-air rights for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted across Spain, Portugal and Morocco with three centenary games to be held in South America.

Over 1 million viewers watched live on RTÉ2 on Sunday as Spain were crowned the 2026 champions.

The final generated over 1.4 million streams on RTÉ Player, making it the most-streamed single event in the platform's history.  

Declan McBennett, Head of Sport at RTÉ, said: “Yesterday was a memorable day for RTÉ Sport, with the All-Ireland Hurling Final and the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final bringing an exciting day of live sport to audiences. 

"More broadly, it has been an exceptional month of sporting coverage, including RTÉ’s most extensive FIFA World Cup broadcast operation to date, delivering all 104 matches with a uniquely Irish overview.

"The strong response across television, RTÉ Player, digital and social platforms reflect the enduring appetite for live sport in Ireland. We look forward to bringing audiences more major sporting moments in the years ahead as part of RTÉ’s public service remit, including the FIFA World Cup in 2030.”

The most viewed matches of the tournament were:

1. Spain v Argentina (average audience of 1 million, 65% share on RTÉ2, and 1.4 million streams on RTÉ Player).

2. England v Argentina (average audience 949k, 60% share on RTÉ2, and 1 million streams on RTÉ Player) 

3. France v Spain (average audience of 873k, 61% share on RTÉ2, and 1 million streams on RTÉ Player) 

4. England v Norway (average audience of 787k, 72% share on RTÉ2, and 1 million streams on RTÉ Player).

Kevin Bakhurst, Director General, RTÉ added: "We are delighted that RTÉ has been successful in securing rights to the 2030 FIFA World Cup for Irish audiences after what has been a very successful 2026 World Cup with record numbers of people enjoying RTÉ's coverage.

"From the first game through to the final, audiences have come to RTÉ in large numbers for our coverage and analysis of every single game, but also for our World Cup highlights on RTÉ Player and YouTube, our podcasts, Up all Night on RTÉ Player and more."