Winter Olympics Averaging 25.7 Million U.S. Viewers, Double 2022 Audiences

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More than 200 million Americans have watched NBCU’s 'Legendary February’ coverage of Olympics, Super Bowl and NBA in the first 11 days of February

View of new streaming features that will be available during the coverage of the Winter Olympics.
About 6.3 billion minutes of Milan Cortina Olympics content have been streamed, topping the last two Winter Games combined (6.1 billion minutes for Beijing and PyeongChang). (Image credit: Peacock)

STAMFORD, Conn.—As of Weds. Feb. 11, NBCUniversal is reporting that its coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics has averaged 25.7 million viewers, more than double the average audiences (12.6 million) who watched the Beijing Olympics in a similar period.

As of Feb. 11 NBCU also reported that more than 200 million Americans (200.1 million) have watched NBCUniversal’s presentation of what it is calling “Legendary February”, headlined by Super Bowl LX, the Winter Olympics, and the debut of Sunday Night Basketball on February 1, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel reach data.

“This level of audience accumulation over just an 11-day period is exceptional in today’s media environment,” said Rick Cordella, president, NBC Sports. “We look forward to continued momentum, with Team USA in contention for many medals in upcoming Olympic competition, and the return of NBA All-Star Weekend to NBC for the first time in more than two decades.”

More specifically, NBCU reported these viewing figures:

  • Through Wednesday, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is averaging 25.7 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBCUniversal Digital Platforms and Versant’s CNBC and USA Network – marking the most-watched Winter Games presentation at this point since 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership and preliminary data from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
  • NBCUniversal’s Milan Cortina Olympics viewership – headlined by live coverage in the afternoon (Milan Prime: 2-5 p.m. ET) followed by Primetime in Milan (8-11 p.m. ET/PT) – is double the Beijing Olympics at this point (12.8 million average).
  • Led by the NBC broadcast network, all six days of Milan Cortina Winter Olympic coverage (since last Friday’s Opening Ceremony) have topped 20 million viewers – with Wednesday’s show averaging 21.5 million viewers – and have posted significant gains over 2022.
  • Led by Peacock, 6.3 billion minutes of Milan Cortina Olympics content have been streamed, topping the last two Winter Games combined (6.1 billion minutes for Beijing and PyeongChang).

The numbers are particularly good news for the company, which owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2036 including Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028), French Alps (2030), Brisbane (2032), Utah (2034), and the 2036 Summer Games.

George Winslow
George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.