The Round Out

Nielsen

Nielsen's The Round Out tells the developing story of the most significant expansion of sports fandom in a generation and what it means for the brands trying to win over a new wave of fans. Hosted by insights experts Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia, the podcast pairs decades of media measurement expertise with the cultural fluency to make the numbers mean something. Brian and Julie don't just read the data they round it out, putting every figure in the context of the fans, stories, and shifts reshaping American sports. As FIFA's official media intelligence supplier, Nielsen brings unparalleled insight to the 2026 World Cup and beyond, covering the sports, stories, and communities driving fandom's next chapter. Tune in to hear who the new fans are, what they care about, and how brands can earn their loyalty.

Episodes

  1. 4 days ago

    Why Hispanic Sports Fans Are the Most Brand-Responsive Audience in America, with Fede Garza

    Live sports remain one of the few moments where a fragmented audience still shows up at the same time, and increasingly that audience is multicultural. You can watch it happen any time a big match lands, when watch parties spill out of living rooms and into the streets. But look under the hood at who is actually watching, and the makeup of that audience is shifting fast. The last World Cup told the story clearly. Matches featuring Team USA drew a broad audience, but the rest of the rounds were powered by multicultural viewers, and that was on English-language broadcast. Shift to Spanish-language coverage, and the level of fandom moves to another level entirely. That is the audience that will define the 2026 World Cup, and it is the most brand-responsive one Nielsen tracks. Authentic connection here is not a nice-to-have. It is a core business strategy. To unpack what that looks like, recording just two days before the tournament kicks off, Brian and Julie sit down with one of the people who knows this audience best. Our guest: Fede Garza Fede Garza, SVP, Research Strategy & Insights, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Fede sits at the absolute forefront of tracking how Hispanic audiences consume media and how brands can authentically connect with them. With Telemundo holding the Spanish-language rights to the 2026 World Cup, few people have a sharper read on the audience that will define the tournament. Chapters 00:00 Live Sports as the Last Cultural Anchor — why everybody still shows up at the same time 00:00 Welcome to The Round Out — meet your hosts, Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia 00:00 Multicultural Audience Flows — how each fanbase spiked at the last World Cup 00:00 Meet Fede Garza — tracking Hispanic audiences at Telemundo 00:00 The Cultural Energy of the Hispanic Sports Fan — the World Cup runup at Telemundo 00:00 Doubling the Numbers — why Spanish-language coverage resonates the way it does 00:00 Multi-Platform Measurement — streaming, broadcast, and the road to Peacock 00:00 The Takeaway for Marketers — building trust with a growth audience 00:00 The Ad Spend Disconnect — 20% of the population, a fraction of the budget 00:00 The Festival Fan Lifestyle — music, social causes, and the opportunity beyond the broadcast What you'll hear Why live sports remain the one cultural moment where everyone still shows up at once, and why the audience underneath is changing faster than the ratings suggestHow multicultural viewers powered the last World Cup, with Asian viewing jumping to 15% when Japan played and Mexico driving a 20% Hispanic audience against PolandWhy Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup easily doubles English-language numbers among Hispanic fans, and why that engagement matters to brandsHow Telemundo reads an audience that overindexes on streaming while broadcast still dominates Spanish-dominant homes, and what the World Cup means for PeacockThe ad spend disconnect: why Hispanics make up 20% of the U.S. population while targeted ad investment lags far behindWhy the 2026 World Cup audience wants more than the match, with 76% of Hispanic World Cup fans interested in live music and 63% who care deeply about social causes The takeaway for brands Multicultural sports fans are highly engaged consumers who actively reward the brands that show up for their communities. When audiences make active purchasing decisions or switch brands based on who shows up, that is where the real commercial opportunity lies. It is about building authentic trust and long-term partnerships, not just securing impressions. About the show The Round Out is Nielsen's podcast about the most significant expansion of sports fandom in a generation. Hosted by Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia, the show takes the numbers Nielsen sees every day and rounds out the picture with the cultural context that tells you what they actually mean, not just who the new fans are, but what they mean for the brands trying to earn their loyalty. Anchored by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it's a front-row seat to American sports fandom as it shifts beneath our feet. Find us anytime at theroundout.com.

    34 min

  2. 9 Jun

    FOX's Mike Mulvihill on America's Soccer Moment and Why the 2026 World Cup Changes Everything

    The 2026 World Cup is completely reshaping the U.S. sports fan landscape. A new kind of American sports fan has emerged: younger, more diverse, more digital, and connected to the game long before the tournament ever reached home soil. This summer, the World Cup lands on American turf for the first time in 32 years. A cultural moment as much as a sporting one, and a once-in-a-generation chance for brands to build real relationships with an audience the traditional sports playbook was never designed to reach. For marketers, the question isn't whether this audience is coming. It's whether your strategy is ready for it. Brian and Julie sit down with one of the sharpest minds in media measurement to unpack what the World Cup really means for the business of sports. About our guest: Mike Mulvihill President, Insights & Analytics, FOX Corp. Mike has spent most of his career at FOX shaping the business behind the biggest rights deals in sports, including the NFL, MLB, and the FIFA World Cup in 2018, 2022, and 2026. As he puts it, he's not an expert in any one sport. He's an expert in sports fandom and how that passion translates into business value. Chapters:  00:00 Soccer's Arrival in the U.S. The new American soccer audience and why 2026 is the inflection point 02:57 Welcome to The Round Out. Meet your hosts, Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia 03:25 Meet Mike Mulvihill. A career in measurement, and being an expert in fandom rather than the game 10:42 Broadcast, Scheduling & Free TV. Why FOX is putting most matches on free TV, plus lessons from IndyCar and Tubi 18:03 Inside the 2026 World Cup. Reach like a second NFL regular season, compressed into five weeks 26:24 The Metrics That Matter. Co-viewing, out-of-home, and the numbers insiders actually watch 31:44 Streaming & the New Audience. Tubi, Peacock, and a younger, more diverse, more fragmented viewer What you'll hear Why the 2026 World Cup is essentially "a second NFL regular season compressed into five weeks" Mike's case for broadcast and free TV, and why FOX is willing to trade some of soccer's famously affluent audience to broaden its reach The metrics insiders actually watch, including co-viewing and out-of-home viewing How a home-soil World Cup landing on America's 250th anniversary could turn a sporting event into a national cultural moment Why streaming is reshaping who shows up, drawing a younger, more diverse, more fragmented audience About the show The Round Out is Nielsen's podcast about the most significant expansion of sports fandom in a generation. Hosted by Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia, the show takes the numbers Nielsen sees every day and rounds out the picture with the cultural context that tells you what they actually mean. Listen and subscribe New episodes of The Round Out drop throughout the 2026 World Cup. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss what the data is telling us next.  Get every episode, plus the numbers behind the show, at theroundout.com.

    39 min
  3. The Round Out

    Episode 1

    The Round Out

    Nielsen's The Round Out tells the developing story of the most significant expansion of sports fandom in a generation and what it means for the brands trying to win over a new wave of fans. Hosted by insights experts Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia, the podcast pairs decades of media measurement expertise with the cultural fluency to make the numbers mean something. Brian and Julie don't just read the data they round it out, putting every figure in the context of the fans, stories, and shifts reshaping American sports. As FIFA's official media intelligence supplier, Nielsen brings unparalleled insight to the 2026 World Cup and beyond, covering the sports, stories, and communities driving fandom's next chapter. Tune in to hear who the new fans are, what they care about, and how brands can earn their loyalty.

    2 min

Trailer

About

Nielsen's The Round Out tells the developing story of the most significant expansion of sports fandom in a generation and what it means for the brands trying to win over a new wave of fans. Hosted by insights experts Brian Fuhrer and Julie DeTraglia, the podcast pairs decades of media measurement expertise with the cultural fluency to make the numbers mean something. Brian and Julie don't just read the data they round it out, putting every figure in the context of the fans, stories, and shifts reshaping American sports. As FIFA's official media intelligence supplier, Nielsen brings unparalleled insight to the 2026 World Cup and beyond, covering the sports, stories, and communities driving fandom's next chapter. Tune in to hear who the new fans are, what they care about, and how brands can earn their loyalty.

Information

  • Creator
    Nielsen
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2026 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Round Out

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