Picture that says it all.
@ChessWatchCom provides the data for the most watched event in 2026 so far.
FIDE Candidates is head and shoulders ahead everything else, and it will keep this lead till the FIDE World Championship Match - where I personally expect the highest ever number of spectators in the chess history.
The information currently being reported by Fox News does not accurately reflect the situation. The coalition of Kurdish parties in Iranian Kurdistan will be issuing an official statement shortly to provide clarification.