Milan Cortina Winter Olympics were most-viewed Winter Games since 2014, NBC says

WASHINGTON — The 2026 Winter Olympics have come to a close, delivering the most-watched Winter Games since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

NBC Sports announced on Monday that it averaged 23.5 million viewers across its platforms during the 17 days of competition. The network said it saw a 96% increase in viewership since the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The numbers are preliminary data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics but will be finalized later this week.

“The Milan Cortina Olympics proved once again that the American audience will gather in large numbers over 17 days to experience this unmatched global competition. These Winter Games — superbly hosted across northern Italy, and produced and distributed by a team of 2,700 — reached blockbuster U.S. audiences of more than 50 million viewers each day, continuing the media dominance we experienced less than two years ago at the Paris Olympics,” NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel said in a news release. “We can’t wait for the return of the Olympics to the United States with the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and are ecstatic to be the U.S. media home of five Olympic Games over the next decade.”

The increase in viewership aligns with Team USA’s sweeping performance at the Winter Olympics, which earned the second-most medals of all delegations. The United States also earned 12 gold medals, the most on record.

Team USA had stars across most sports, from figure skating to hockey. According to NBC, the women’s hockey final between the U.S. and Canada became the most-watched women’s hockey game on record, averaging 5.3 million viewers on USA Network and Peacock.

Metrics for the men’s hockey gold medal game were not available on Monday. It was the first time the U.S. men’s team had won a gold medal in the hockey tournament since 1980.

“These Olympics captured everyone’s imagination in ways no one could have predicted. The settings were stunningly beautiful, providing a spectacular backdrop for the intense competition. The technology – including enhanced audio and drones – coupled with the unprecedented access we had to athletes and their lives allowed us to take the audience inside their stories in fresh, meaningful ways,” said Molly Solomon, NBC Olympics production executive producer and president, in a statement. “And Team USA represented the best of every one of us, giving us so much to look forward to for many Olympic Games to come.”