You’d hope the infrastructure in 2030 would be better than 2018. And most will have a smart tv by 2030 etc.
Not sure applying that logic to future world cups wins out
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Specifically, 9Now has shown it can handle record viewing with State of Origin while 7Plus handled the Women’s World Cup. Both are also fine with respective grand final audiences.
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So can SBS On Demand btw.
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I expected fewer ads given that SBS is a taxpayer funded broadcaster and certainly didn’t expect any during the “Maccas Match Break”. I understand a commercial network would do that but at least they would be better in other areas.
ad free only applies to non-sport and non-live programming. Stan Sport has ads regardless.
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“Live and on demand. No ad breaks in play.”
Are you saying their website is incorrect?
I watched Wimbledon and Roland Garros tennis on Stan Sport and I can confirm they have ad breaks at most changeovers. I have the “ad-free” HD plan. The Stan website is incorrect.
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Well in that case it’s not only incorrect, it’s false advertising.
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To be fair, a change over is not in play.
Exactly what Fox Cricket do when they say no ad breaks in play. They will go to an ad during the drinks break
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Fox footy has no ads during play. Same with cricket. The only ad breaks for footy is during the quarter breaks. For crickets it’s during the drinks breaks & end of sessions
They have ad breaks during changovers after every 3 games and at half time
Out of curiosity, how is this World Cup comparing with past ones (from say the past 10-15 years), on a national average level? 
Acknowledging that the current VOZ vs previous bvod iterations vs the old traditional broadcast only might make direct comparisons somewhat challenging.
SBS has another extra time + penalty shootout.
Shootout finished 8:51 AM. Post game went until 9:07 AM
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Well over half of Australia have tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup™ on SBS
Australia’s Round of 32 match against Egypt achieved a Total TV reach of almost 4 million in the pre-dawn hours
Almost 3 million tuned in to the Round of 16 match between Mexico and England on Monday
Most Australians have watched the tournament as cumulative reach hits 16.2 million
More than 16 million Australians have tuned into SBS’s FIFA World Cup 2026™ broadcast over the first three weeks of the tournament, driven by record audiences for the Australian matches and consistently high ratings for other feature matches.
Despite the Socceroos’ departure, there is still huge enthusiasm for the tournament as 2.88 million* (VOZ Total TV reach) watched England defeat host nation Mexico 3-2 on Monday (6 July) to progress to the quarter-finals. This was the biggest audience for a match not involving Australia, and one of eight matches so far that has reached more than two million viewers.
Almost 4 million fans rose early or pulled an all-nighter to watch the Socceroos play Egypt in a pre-dawn knockout match in Australia on Saturday, giving SBS a Total TV average audience of 2.2 million, as 46% tuned in through SBS On Demand (see detailed breakdown below).
Cumulative Total TV reach for the tournament is now at 16.2 million, which means more than 58% of Australia’s population have watched some of the tournament, with two weeks still to go to the final match. The quarter-finals start Friday, 10 July (Australian time).
SBS Director of Sport, Ken Shipp, said: “One of the things that has always made the FIFA World Cup™ so special is the way it brings people together. Australians embraced the Socceroos’ campaign, but they have also continued to follow the tournament because the FIFA World Cup™ has a unique ability to bring Australians together through football, regardless of the team they are supporting. It’s also a chance to celebrate the many cultures and communities that make Australia such a diverse nation.
“SBS has been proud to share that experience with Australians for the past 40 years. The knockout rounds have already produced some remarkable football, and with the quarter-finals about to begin, the tournament is building towards a thrilling finish.”
Last week, the Socceroos’ final Group match, against Paraguay, became the most-watched World Cup match in SBS history (4.84 million, Total TV reach), closely followed by the 4.75 million who tuned in to watch their opening game against Türkiye on 14 June.
SBS’s World Cup broadcast dominated Saturday’s free-to-air ratings, as the Australia-
Egypt post-match program attracted 2.47 million viewers, and the pre-match program attracted more than one million viewers.
| Australia v Egypt | Total TV Reach | Total TV Average Audience | % BVOD Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia v Egypt – Pre | 1,007,000 | 245,000 | 37.2% |
| Australia v Egypt – Live | 3,868,000 | 2,201,000 | 46.4% |
| Australia v Egypt – Post | 2,475,000 | 991,000 | 44.0% |
Note: Updated data for this match became available today (7 July). Preliminary data available on 5 July did not capture all viewers, due to the extended match time.
World Cup matches have consistently ranked in the top ten programs of the day since the tournament began on 12 June (Australian time). So far, 46 live matches have reached more than one million viewers each.
The World Cup broadcast has struck a particular chord with younger viewers, ranking No.1 on the VOZ daily ratings for 23 of the last 25 days in the 16-39 age group. Yesterday (6 July), SBS had the top six shows for this age group.
| Top Matches to 6 July | Total TV Reach | Total TV Average Audience | % BVOD Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay v Australia – Live | 4,844,000 | 3,086,000 | 46.8% |
| Australia v Türkiye – Live | 4,750,000 | 3,045,000 | 44.0% |
| Australia v Egypt – Live | 3,868,000 | 2,201,000 | 46.4% |
| USA v Australia – Live | 3,456,000 | 2,199,000 | 45.9% |
| Mexico v England – Live | 2,882,000 | 1,659,000 | 63.4% |
| Argentina v Cape Verde – Live | 2,644,000 | 1,110,000 | 58.6% |
| Portugal v Croatia – Live | 2,125,000 | 1,093,000 | 65.6% |
Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusively on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand from 12 June to 20 July (AEST). Learn all the ways to watch, read and listen, including updating your SBS On Demand app (iOS or Android) and subscribing to SBS Sport newsletters here.
SBS Sport’s social media platforms have had more than 979 million video views and 1.1 billion impressions across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube.^ The SBS Sport TikTok platform has grown more than ten-fold during the World Cup and now has 2.7 million followers.
Sources:
* Reach-To Date: VOZ National Total TV | Date: 11/06/2026 – 6/07/2026 | Data: When Watched, All WC content | Demo: Total People | Metric: Reach (Broadcast 1 min, BVOD 15 secs)
Average Audience: VOZ National Total TV | Overnight 12/06/2026 – 6/07/2026| Demo: Total People | Metric: Average Audience
^ Tableau, 1/4/2026 to 6/7/2026
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Tomorrow is a tournament rest day. No episode of Cup Fever. The Cup Fever members will still have match ups - Santo, Ed and Joe:
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SBS will be showing the final halftime entertainment.
Also note the final Cup Fever is the day before the final - nothing afterward.
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Will watch BBC and ITV instead to avoid the halftime performance
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