Winter Olympics Close With Nearly Double the Viewers From 2022

NBCUniversal’s coverage averaged more than 23 million viewers, and Peacock had its best month ever. The Olympic cauldron at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Maja Hitij/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text The 2026 Winter Olympics continued their ratings momentum through their final weekend. The games averaged 23.5 million viewers across NBCUniversal and Versant platforms from Feb. 6-23, based on Nielsen ratings and Adobe Analytics streaming data — a huge improvement on the lightly watched 2022 Winter Olympics. The 2026 audience, which combines live afternoon telecasts on NBC and Peacock (and sometimes Versant’s USA Network and CNBC) and primetime replays, nearly doubled the average of the 2022 games (12 million). That average may grow a little as it includes preliminary Nielsen numbers for the final few days of the games. Related Stories TV The Seven Best Team USA Moments of the Winter Olympics, Ranked TV California Dreamin': NBC Kicks Off 2028 L.A. Olympics Marketing Campaign With Kate Hudson (Exclusive) The 2026 Winter Olympics are the most watched winter games since 2014, NBC says. The Olympics averaged more than 20 million viewers for all 15 full days of competition from from Feb. 7-20, and for the opening ceremony on Feb. 6. The Milan-Cortina Olympics became the most streamed winter games ever less than a week into the competition, with Peacock racking up ever bigger numbers over the remainder of its coverage. The games ended with 16.7 billion minutes of streaming time, more than double the combined total for all previous Winter Olympics (which prior to 2022 came via NBC apps and websites). “The success of the Milan Cortina Olympics, Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara and the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles could not have happened without the enormous cooperation and support from across Comcast NBCUniversal — including Peacock, NBC Entertainment, NBC News, Telemundo, local owned-stations, NBC affiliates, our exceptional ad sales and distribution teams, and Xfinity. And, of course, our great partners at the IOC, USOPC, NFL and NBA,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordelia said in a statement. The gold medal women’s hockey game between the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 21 drew 5.3 million viewers, a record for any women’s hockey contest in the United States. Ratings for the men’s final, also a U.S. overtime victory over Canada, will be available Tuesday. Peacock had its best month ever in February, unsurprisingly. The streamer (and other NBCU digital platforms) averaged 3.3 million daily viewers for the “Milan Prime” (2-5 p.m. ET) and U.S. primetime main telecasts, which accounts for about 14 percent of the 23.5 million all-in average. The Super Bowl, Olympics and NBA programming also had a halo effect on Peacock’s entertainment offerings: The Burbs launched to strong viewing numbers on Super Bowl Sunday, and shows including The Traitors, Ponies and All Her Fault saw viewing lifts compared to the weeks prior to the Super Bowl and Olympics. Read More About: NBC Peacock Streaming Ratings TV Ratings Winter Olympics winter olympics 2026 THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up More from The Hollywood Reporter united kingdom ‘Dreaming Whilst Black’ Star Adjani Salmon on Why Breaking into the Industry Is Just the Beginning