CazéTV sets YouTube record with 21 million World Cup audience

Brazilian digital broadcaster CazéTV reached 21 million simultaneous connected devices during its coverage of Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Japan at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.The figure represents a new global record for a live broadcast on YouTube and continues a series of audience milestones achieved by the channel during the tournament.The previous record was also held by CazéTV after its coverage of Brazil’s match against Scotland attracted more than 18 million concurrent devices.Brazil’s opening match against Morocco recorded around 12.4 million simultaneous connections, before the audience increased to approximately 16.2 million for the match against Haiti and more than 18 million against Scotland.The Japan match lifted the peak to 21 million devices, although the total number of people watching is likely to have been substantially higher because televisions and other shared screens can represent multiple viewers.CazéTV presenter and co-founder Casimiro Miguel suggested the broadcast could have reached more than 50 million people when shared viewing was taken into account.The channel is showing all 104 World Cup matches free in Brazil through YouTube, providing an alternative to traditional television coverage and expanding access across smart televisions, mobile devices, computers and games consoles.Its coverage combines live matches with informal commentary, influencers, fan interaction and extensive supporting programming designed for digitally engaged audiences.CazéTV’s World Cup performance strengthens the position of LiveMode, the sports media company behind the platform, within Brazil’s increasingly competitive media-rights market.The figures also demonstrate YouTube’s capacity to deliver audiences comparable with major television networks for premium live sport, particularly when rights are made freely available through a platform with an established community.Traditional broadcaster Globo continues to attract significant audiences across its television and digital platforms, but CazéTV’s growth has diversified how Brazilian supporters consume the national team and challenged the country’s established broadcasting model.The record provides further evidence to rights holders and advertisers that creator-led channels can offer scale, younger audiences and high levels of interaction alongside conventional reach.