Historic summer of sports for TV 2
Erling Haaland and the rest of the Norwegian national team won football hearts across the world, and at TV 2, a strong team effort set historic milestones across all platforms during the coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
It was a summer where the whole Norway gathered in front of their screens, with TV 2 right at the center of the action. With 52 live-broadcast matches, 24/7 coverage, and a massive on-site presence, the media house succeeded in turning the tournament into an unforgettable celebration of sports for the viewers.
Historic World Cup success and record viewer numbers
Together with NRK, TV 2 brought in stunning 36.5 million viewers across the tournament, significantly surpassing the initial estimate of 29 million.
The tournament also delivered a historic milestone for TV 2’s linear channel: the match between Ivory Coast and Norway drew an average of 1.74 million viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast in TV 2’s history. The streaming platform TV 2 Play also experienced massive growth, gaining as many as 218,200 new subscribers.
“The World Cup has demonstrated that TV 2 operates exceptionally well across departments... driven by a shared desire for commercial success alongside editorial achievements,” emphasizes Bernt A. Andersen, Director of Business Development at TV 2.
Innovation and digital engagement
On tv2.no, the traffic exploded thanks to new creative formats and sky-high engagement:
Interactive football cards: In just two weeks leading up to the tournament, a small three-person team developed an interactive football card concept. It became a massive trend, resulting in 526,000 generated cards and 135,000 unique, logged-in users.
“The concept really resonated with the audience. I’ve even received photos from staff rooms at hospitals where the walls were completely covered in these football cards,” says Team Lead and Editorial Developer at TV 2, Kristian von Streng Hæhre.
Wire-gate and video records: TV 2’s online videos reached mind-blowing 43 million views, compared to an initial target of 14 million. Traffic surged in particular during the so-called “wire-gate” controversy in the dramatic quarter-final against England: Intense debate erupted over whether the ball, in a decisive moment, hit one of the suspended overhead camera wires above the pitch. The clip went viral, and viewers flocked to inspect the controversial footage.
Camp Norway Live: With a base in the US, TV 2 gave viewers a unique and unfiltered look inside the national team's camp.
“Nothing was too big, nothing too small. We showed every single touch of the ball and every open training session. At the same time, concepts like this live and die by their ability to create an atmosphere filled with personality, storytelling, and inside jokes. We broadcast live through security checkpoints in Miami and from the commentator building in Greensboro – in addition to around 15 hours of live TV tied into NRK's matches,” explains Marius Skjelbæk, host at TV 2.
Back home in Norway, host Desta Marie Beeder and her crew traveled across 13 municipalities to capture the red-and-white festive spirit among Norwegian fans:
“Through our travels, we demonstrated a local presence that not only produced fantastic content, but also served as excellent promotion for the channel.”
A complete summer of sports
The historic coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 did not stand alone. It was part of an already eventful summer of sports at TV 2, which also featured extensive coverage of the world’s biggest cycling race, Tour de France.
TV 2 is part of Egmont and serves as Norway's leading editorial media house and commercial public service broadcaster, bringing the nation together for news, sports and entertainment across eight channels, tv2.no, and TV 2 Play.