An average of around 12.2 million viewers on M6 watched the French national team's 1-0 victory over Paraguay on Saturday evening in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a "historic record" in viewership after 11:00 PM in France, according to the channel.

M6 thus achieved a 76% audience share during this match, which allowed the two-time world champions to reach the quarter-finals, according to the channel, which is the sole World Cup broadcaster in France via free-to-air television.

The M6 group surprised in March 2024 by snatching the broadcasting rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups from TF1, the historic broadcaster of the tournament, which deemed the cost of rights too high.

According to figures published in the press and unconfirmed, the deal was worth €120 million (about $138 million) for the 2026 World Cup, with M6 obtaining rights to broadcast 54 out of 104 matches.

Group CEO David Larramendy had indicated at the beginning of May that M6 would "incur losses on this event," but considered it an "exceptional showcase by all standards."

Since then, broadcasting the World Cup has allowed the channel to achieve high viewership in June, enabling it to rank third among French national channels, surpassing France 3.

Five days into the tournament, around 14 million average viewers watched France's 3-1 win over Senegal on M6, while 13.7 million people watched the third match against Norway (4-1), both matches played at 9:00 PM French time.