Govee

New research reveals the majority of soccer fans prefer watching at home, with many investing in technology to recreate the match-day experience BELLEVUE, Wash., June 10, 2026 -- Govee, a leading smart lighting brand, today announced a collaboration with legendary goalkeeper and American soccer icon Tim Howard, to bring "unstoppable fun" to at-home watch parties during this summer's global soccer tournament. Research shows that home is becoming the default match-day setting for many U.S. fans this summer. More than half of U.S. adults (56%) plan to watch at least one match and 68% prefer watching in a private home setting, either their own home or the home of family and friends. Rising ticket, travel, food, and parking costs are shaping how fans approach live sports, with 75% of Americans saying those costs have made attending live sporting events less appealing. Together, the findings point to a clear shift in how fans are approaching match day. They are not simply choosing home over the stadium; they are looking for a more comfortable, controllable, and technology-enhanced way to bring the energy of the world's biggest soccer tournament into the spaces where they gather. Govee elevates that home-viewing experience with smart lighting designed to bring match-night fun, energy, and shared memories to life. "At Govee, we believe lighting should do more than brighten a room — it should make everyday life more joyful," said Eric Wu, CEO of Govee. "Our smart lighting technology is built to turn the moments people care about, like watching a match at home, into experiences they share and remember." This summer, Govee is turning at-home watch parties into fun, shareable memories with its smart lights. When the match kicks off, one tap in the Govee Home app or a simple voice command can shift the space from everyday illumination into an energized watch-party setting filled with customizable colors, national team-inspired palettes, and reactive effects. Through Govee's DreamView technology, the fun can move across the entire space, from the living room to the patio or backyard, as one coordinated system. After the final whistle, the lights can shift back to everyday white light for daily use, but the fun lasts beyond the watch parties – one that even a veteran goalkeeping describes as impossible to resist. "I spent my career trying to stop shots," said Tim Howard, known to U.S. fans as the "Secretary of Defense." "But after experiencing a watch party with Govee lighting, I realized this kind of fun is simply unstoppable. When the red, white, and blue that U.S. soccer fans know so well filled the whole space, I felt like I was back on the field." Tim Howard will be joining the "Unstoppable Fun" Stream Battle, Govee's live activation on TikTok starting June 12th. Four soccer-focused creators will each host a Govee-themed livestream during a match this summer, using Govee lighting to build the atmosphere for their audiences. The creator whose watch party stream receives the highest combined view count will win a live call-in from Howard - with the US legend and the winning creator talking soccer and lighting setups. Notes to editors: Research commissioned by Govee and conducted by Focaldata among a nationally representative sample of 2000 U.S. adults, weighted by age, gender and region, (including over 1,000 U.S. soccer fans) between 2nd-4th June 2026. Full research methodology available on request.