NBC sees 93% Winter Olympics ratings spike through first 5 days

NBCUniversal has seen an average of 26.5 million viewers during the first five nights of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, the most to this point since the 2014 Sochi Games, it announced Tuesday.

That translates into a 93% increase from the same period at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and includes viewers tuning in via NBC, the Peacock streaming service, other NBCUniversal digital platforms, and the CNBC and USA networks.

In Beijing, the average through the first five days was 13.7 million.

Front Office Sports reported that the primetime coverage on Sunday night averaged 42 million viewers, the most-watched individual broadcast since the Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Viewers have streamed 5.3 billion minutes so far, largely on Peacock, double the number from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The time zone difference between the United States and Italy likely has contributed to the increase.

The past two Winter Olympics were held in Asia, with time differences between the U.S. East Coast of at least 13 hours. It's just six hours to Milan, making it easier for viewers to catch live events.

NBC has committed to showing live coverage of all events through linear and streaming platforms.

Viewership is expected to stay strong in the coming days as the men's hockey competition ramps up and high-profile events, such as women's and men's figure skating, take place.

--Field Level Media