Quick-turn research · World Cup 2026
Sidelined: what America reads while the world watches
By Scrivy Research · Published June 11, 2026 · Survey of 1,500 U.S. adults
The World Cup is on home soil and the country is glued to it. The exception: the 38% of non-fans who told us they're planning the opposite, a reading marathon. We polled 1,500 Americans and ranked all 11 host cities on the Reading Bench Index.
Why is an author-tools company polling soccer country? Scrivy builds tools for people who write and finish books, and 230 broadcast hours is the biggest block of found time on the American calendar. We wanted to know who plans to spend it reading, and who plans to spend it writing.
- 38%
- of non-fans plan to read more during the Cup
- 1 in 4
- partners of superfans planning a 6+ book marathon
- 230 hrs
- of broadcast, enough time to draft a book
- 7%
- plan to WRITE during the tournament
The Reading Bench: all 11 host cities
Composite of read-more rate, books planned, and reading-widow rate among each host metro's residents. Tap a ball for that city's numbers.
The 11 host cities
38% of non-fans nationwide plan to read more during the tournament. Tap a ball for that city's numbers
Balls mark the 11 U.S. host cities · #1 reads the most
| # | Host city | Index | Will read more | Books planned | Reading widows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 74 | 47% | 4.1 | 31% |
| 2 | Boston | 71 | 45% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 3 | New York–New Jersey | 68 | 43% | 3.6 | 28% |
| 4 | San Francisco Bay Area | 66 | 42% | 3.4 | 26% |
| 5 | Philadelphia | 61 | 39% | 3.1 | 25% |
| 6 | Kansas City | 57 | 36% | 2.8 | 24% |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 54 | 34% | 2.7 | 22% |
| 8 | Atlanta | 51 | 32% | 2.5 | 21% |
| 9 | Houston | 47 | 29% | 2.3 | 19% |
| 10 | Miami | 43 | 26% | 2 | 17% |
| 11 | Dallas | 39 | 23% | 1.8 | 16% |
Seattle takes the crown; Dallas, America's most locked-in World Cup city, finishes dead last on the bench. And the bridge stat every books desk loves: 230 broadcast hours is more than enough time to draft the book that 61% of Americans insist they have in them.
Methodology
Who we surveyed. Survey of 1,500 U.S. adults with oversamples in the 11 U.S. host metros, fielded June 4–9, 2026 via CloudResearch Connect. Census-balanced on age, gender, and region; metro figures weighted to census benchmarks.
How cities are ranked. The Reading Bench Index is a 0–100 composite for each host metro: the share of non-fans planning to read more during the tournament (weighted 45%), average books planned before the final (35%), and the share of superfan partners planning a parallel reading marathon (20%), normalized across the 11 metros.
What we asked. World Cup fandom and viewing plans; whether the tournament changes reading time; books planned before the final on July 19, 2026; partner-of-a-superfan "reading widow" status; plans to write during the tournament; demographics and home metro.
Data access. Full host-metro tables (XLSX), crosstabs, and print-resolution graphics are available to journalists. Write to support@scrivy.co. Conducted by Scrivy.
Embed the graphic
The interactive host-city map is free to embed, and the dropdown writes the snippet for your market.
<iframe src="https://www.scrivy.co/embed/sidelined" width="100%" height="820" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Sidelined: World Cup 2026 host-city reading index"></iframe>Preview the embed
For press
Host-metro data tables, methodology, print-resolution graphics, and spokesperson interviews, with same-day turnaround through the final on July 19, 2026.
Methodology
The full methodology, survey instrument, and weighting notes are published on this page.