Milan Cortina Olympics Becomes the Most Viewed Winter Games in Nearly a Decade on NBCUniversal Platforms

NBCUniversal has emerged as a leader in viewership for the 2026 Winter Olympics held in Milan Cortina, marking the most-watched Winter Games in over a decade.

Throughout the events, which included both opening and closing ceremonies, the games attracted an average of 23.5 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms, and both CNBC and USA Network. This figure reflects combined viewership during the live afternoon coverage (2-5 p.m. ET) and U.S. primetime slots (8-11 p.m. ET/PT), according to NBCUniversal.

This data is derived from Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership metrics up to February 19, with preliminary figures from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics up to Sunday. final numbers, including the official average and closing ceremony viewership, are expected later this week.

NBCUniversal noted that this year’s averages represent the highest viewership for a Winter Olympics since Sochi 2014, reflecting a remarkable 96% increase compared to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which saw an average of 12 million viewers in the same windows.

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The network also highlighted that streaming coverage of the Milan Cortina Olympics achieved a staggering 16.7 billion minutes across digital platforms, with Peacock leading the way. This figure more than doubles the combined total of 6.9 billion minutes from all previous Winter Olympics, although it is important to mention this is only the second Winter Games since the launch of Peacock. During the 17-day event, Peacock streamed over 850 live events.

This significant viewership milestone follows the United States Women’s and Men’s Hockey Teams’ recent victories over Canada, clinching Olympic gold medals. The women’s hockey final proved notably popular, becoming the most-watched game on record, with an average of 5.3 million viewers on USA Network and Peacock, peaking at 7.7 million during overtime.

Viewership figures for the men’s hockey final will be released soon. In the final medal event of the Milan Cortina Olympics, Team USA secured its first gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980 in Lake Placid. NBCUniversal anticipates announcing these figures on Tuesday.

Overall, NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milan Cortina Olympics extended to 3,200 hours across 116 events. Team USA achieved a historic total of 12 gold medals, marking its highest tally at a Winter Olympics, and finished second in the total medal count with 33 medals.