The 2026 World Cup will be broadcast on open TV and streaming channels, and TV Globo —which has shown the tournament uninterruptedly since 1970— appears ahead in fans’ preference.
According to a Datafolha survey, 38% of Brazilians say they intend to follow the games, starting on June 11th, on the Rio broadcaster.
CazéTV, led by Casimiro Miguel, appears with 10%, in a technical tie with SBT, which has 9%, considering the margin of error of two percentage points, plus or minus.
TV Globo will show 52 matches —20 of them exclusive on open TV—, half of the duels in the tournament —which this year will have an expanded edition with 48 teams—, in a package that includes the subscription channel SporTV and the online platform GE TV.
SporTV was mentioned by 5% of those interviewed, and GE TV, by 1%.
SBT, in partnership with the subscription channel N Sports and reinforced with narrators Galvão Bueno and Tiago Leifert, will play 32 games, returning to broadcasting the World Cup after a 28-year hiatus.
CazéTV will be the only one in the country to broadcast all 104 duels in the competition. YouTube —where CazéTV is hosted— appears with 3% in the search.
Record (2%), Band (1%) and ESPN (1%), which do not have the rights to broadcast the games, were also remembered.
Furthermore, 31% of those interviewed said they did not intend to watch the games, and 5% said they did not know.
The institute interviewed 2,004 people aged 16 and over on April 7, 8 and 9, in 137 municipalities. The margin of error for the numbers presented in the general sample is two percentage points, plus or minus.
Among younger people, CazéTV is tied with Globo
In terms of age group — where the margin of error is five percentage points — there are important changes in relation to viewers’ preferences.
In the 16 to 24 age group, Globo has 34%, while CazéTV already has 29%, which constitutes a technical tie, considering the variation in the margin of error.
On the other hand, among the public aged 60 and over, 39% responded that they will follow the games on Globo, and only 1% mentioned CazéTV.
Physical education student Guilherme Roberto Rocha Lima, 20, says that his preference for the YouTube channel stems mainly from the approach that he considers to be less “rigid”, compared to open TV.
“On TV everything is a bit robotic, on CazéTV I think they are more themselves, they have more freedom. It’s a channel that I like more”, stated Lima.
“There’s more of a joke, but it’s also not that they don’t take it seriously. I just think they end up bringing the information in a slightly lighter way,” he added.
He said he intends to watch the World Cup matches from home accompanied by his mother, who has also embraced the new internet transmission options. “When our Corinthians game is going to be on, she always asks me if they’re going to show it on CazéTV.”
The student’s mother, Maria Cristina Roberto, 53, a day laborer, says she stopped following the games on Globo after the departure of narrator Galvão Bueno.
“I think the other narrators aren’t as good,” she said. “CazéTV’s are better, although they’re not always very impartial,” he added, laughing. Maria Cristina says she has also been following broadcasts on GE TV, especially women’s football.
Marketing professor at Insper and general director of the EMW Global agency for Latin America, Eduardo Corch, 52, said that the advancement of CazéTV and the size of engagement it managed to achieve with younger people is not as surprising as the speed with which the process happened.
“In less than three years, it is already fighting on equal terms with Globo in the youth segment. It is a generation that did not grow up with open TV as the main media vehicle. Digital natives grew up on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok. And Casimiro Miguel speaks the native language, uses streaming formats, with ‘reacts’ and comments in real time”, said Corch.
“For this audience, watching a match on CazéTV is more like watching a stream than ‘turning on the TV’.”
The professor added that another advantage of CazéTV is the fact that it is free, broadcast on YouTube and has greater appeal among young people with lower purchasing power or who live in republics, college rooms or simply do not have a TV at home and watch on their cell phone.
“Globo, on the other hand, dominates among older people largely due to habit. A large part of this audience watches on their living room TV set, with a satellite dish or cable. YouTube on their cell phone is simply not part of their routine. Changing these habits takes time.”
In the regional section — where the margin of error varies from three to six percentage points —, the Northeast region is where TV Globo continues to have the greatest dominance (46%), while CazéTV has its largest audience in the Southeast (12%).
“In the Northeast, preference rates for Globo are well above the national average, confirming the broadcaster’s historical strength in the region,” said José Sarkis Arakelian, 52, consultant and professor at FAAP.
“In the Southeast, where access to quality internet is most widespread, CazéTV has its best regional performance. The pattern suggests that the expansion of streaming in football is directly linked to digital infrastructure: where connectivity is better, the competition is fiercer.”
The Datafolha survey also detected relevant differences depending on the political preferences of those interviewed.
PT voters showed a much greater interest in following the World Cup games on Globo (61%), with 5% citing CazéTV, 7% SBT and 4% SporTV.
Among those from PL, who commonly criticize the channel for its political coverage considered biased, only 22% responded that they will watch on Globo. In this case, 13% cited CazéTV, 16% SBT and 10% SporTV.
In the cut that considers the vote in the second round of the 2022 elections, in which the margin of error varies from three to four percentage points, among those who voted for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 51% cited Globo, 8% CazéTV, 6% SBT and 5% SporTV.
Of those who voted for former president Jair Bolsonaro, 28% responded that they will follow it on Globo. Next come SBT (12%), CazéTV (10%) and SporTV (7%).
