Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), NBCUniversal, and the BBC recorded impressive streaming numbers for their coverage of the recently concluded 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Across its HBO Max and discovery+ streaming services – operating across Europe and in the UK – WBD secured a 234% rise in streaming viewer numbers, compared to those recorded during the previous Winter games in Beijing 2022.
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NBC, meanwhile, recorded an average of 24 million viewers across its US afternoon coverage and primetime coverage of the games. This equated to an increase of 94% from Beijing 2022.
NBC also said that – up until Friday – 14.8 billion minutes of action from the Winter Olympics had been streamed, a figure which more than doubles the total number for every Winter Olympics to this point. The heavyweight's streaming service, Peacock, was an integral part of its overall coverage.
For WBD, there was also growth of 103% between the Beijing games and this edition (held across the Milan-Cortina region of northern Italy) in terms of total hours viewed, across Europe. Specifically, there was triple-digit growth for total hours viewed in the major markets of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy.
The timezone – with these games being held in Europe itself, as opposed to China four years ago – will have undoubtedly contributed to the 2026 Winter Olympics feeling more accessible to European audiences, and to a certain extent those in the US as well. The last Winter Games held in Western Europe also took place in Italy, in Turin, 20 years ago.
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By GlobalDataThe number of total subscribers streaming 2026 Winter Olympics content for WBD exceeded the total figure from the Beijing event, after only three full event days.
Meanwhile, the BBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics – sub-licensed from WBD – delivered the largest overall audience consumption in its history, driven by record streaming and strong social engagement.
Across the games, there were 83 million streams and more than 44 million hours viewed online via BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, and the BBC Sport app. Television coverage reached 26.3 million viewers, with Team GB men’s curling silver medal final against Canada delivering the biggest peak audience of the fortnight, with 5.5 million viewers on BBC One.
The figures mark a significant uplift on Beijing 2022, which delivered 31.4 million streams and a TV audience of 26 million.
On BBC Sport's social platforms, coverage generated 235 million views across the games. YouTube views rose 390% compared with Beijing 2022, reaching 8.8 million, with total watch time of 590,000 hours.
WBD holds rights to the 2026 Winter Olympics as part of a long-term deal struck with the International Olympic Committee in 2023.
That agreement, beginning this year, covers four editions of the Olympics between 2026 and 2032 (winter and summer).
WBD (which used HBO Max and discovery+ to show every event live) secured rights as part of a joint bid with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the alliance of public service networks.
Including the opening and closing ceremonies, the 2026 Winter Olympics lasted from February 6 to 22.
NBC, meanwhile, holds rights through the 2036 Olympics, having added that event and the 2034 Winter games in a deal announced last year.
Andrew Georgiou, WBD Sports Europe's president and managing director, said: "The success we witnessed in the opening days has translated into an outstanding Olympic Winter Games for Warner Bros. Discovery with substantial streaming viewership and engagement growth in addition to highly robust linear audiences.
“Watching the Olympic Games on HBO Max and discovery+ clearly resonated with audiences in the UK and Europe, with three times as many people choosing to stream the games with us compared to Beijing 2022."
In terms of linear TV viewership, meanwhile, there was a 3% increase from the Beijing games. Eurosport covered the games for linear TV in mainland Europe, while TNT Sports did so in the UK and Ireland.
Overall, there was a growth of 51% for hours viewed overall across the continent, with significant increases in France, Germany, the UK, Ireland, and Poland.
In terms of NBC's specific viewing numbers from the games, the US-Canada clash in the final of the women's ice hockey on Thursday brought in an average audience of 5.3 million on USA Network and Peacock – and a peak audience of 7.7 million.
In total, that gold medal clash (which the US won) and the figure skating gold medal won by USA's Alysa Liu brought in a combined average audience of 26.7 million across NBC, USA Network, Peacock, and all other NBCU platforms, it has been claimed.
