People Did Watch

Remember back four years ago when NBC's Olympic ratings weren't good and critics were quick to say that "nobody" watches the Olympics anymore?  Well, as the Paris Games proved, that analysis couldn't be further from the truth.  And that point was reiterated in Milan Cortina, which set a Winter Olympics ratings record!  They were the most-watched Winter Games since 2014 and had an average of 23.5 million viewers a night, an astounding 96 percent increase from Beijing. 

It's not a coincidence that the last two Winter Olympics were lower rated.  They were both in Asia.  Because of the time difference, Olympics in Asia aren't as highly-watched in the U.S.  Even with live primetime events (which are held the following morning local time), Games in Asia draw lower viewership numbers than Games in Europe (where live primetime events are impossible).  Then you throw in the fact that three Olympics in a row were held in Asia, and there was definitely some Asia fatigue there.

There were some other very obvious circumstances that came into play for both the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics that contributed to the low viewership.  It wasn't just because of Asia fatigue, which absolutely played a part.  It's because those were both COVID Olympics.  The Tokyo Games were delayed a year and held without spectators.  They looked and felt stale. 

Then Beijing 2.0 was only six months later.  In addition to Asia fatigue, having two Games so close together likely led to some Olympic fatigue, as well.  And there were still COVID restrictions that led to Beijing having limited crowds.  Plus, the American diplomatic boycott led to NBC doing all of its coverage from Connecticut instead of on-site.  And some people likely didn't watch as their own personal protest to China's policies.

Asian Olympics are difficult, too, because of the time difference.  Yes, it allows for live events in primetime, but a vast majority of them take place overnight and in the early morning.  That's not optimal viewing time.  And it makes for daytime shows that consist entirely of pre-taped competition.  That can be a tough sell, especially since those (A) aren't marquee events that NBC got scheduled for the morning so they can show them live and (B) Americans typically aren't strong in them.

American success obviously helps, too.  This was the United States' most successful Winter Olympics outside of North America ever.  And the 12 gold medals won by American athletes were a record for any Winter Olympics.  Don't think that didn't contributed to NBC's ratings success.  Whether they'd already watched it or not, people wanted to see Americans win on the primetime show.

For Paris, NBC changed its Olympic broadcast strategy with great success.  The time difference with Europe, while it didn't allow for live coverage in primetime, was advantageous in many other ways.  Most significantly, it allows for live coverage all afternoon.  And the marquee events take place in the late afternoon, which makes it much more likely that people will be able to watch them live if they want to.  And, if they missed it or wanted to see it again, they could watch in primetime only a few hours later (not half a day later).

And, yes, there were still early-morning events.  That's always going happen at any Olympics that isn't in North America (in LA, it'll be the opposite...the time difference goes the other way, so there won't be anything in the morning on the East Coast).  Most events didn't start until later in the morning or the afternoon in the United States, though.  That makes viewing live much easier.  And people were certainly willing to make an exception regarding the early-morning starts.

The men's hockey gold medal game began at 8:10 am Eastern.  People, of course, still complained about the start time, but what did they expect?  The game was in Italy and had to start in the afternoon local time because of the Closing Ceremony!  And, you know what?  Getting up at 8, even on a Sunday, isn't that crazy.  And plenty of people were willing to get up at 8 so that they could watch USA vs. Canada live!

After the success of their broadcast strategy in Paris a year and a half ago, it was no surprise that NBC used the same approach in Milan Cortina.  Primetime in Paris and Primetime in Milan were succinct, well-produced shows that had coverage of some of the same events that had aired only a few hours earlier, yet was also different.  Not just because it was edited, but because it had those prepackaged features.  And, in Milan Cortina, they also held some events for primetime.  Most alpine skiing was shown live on USA early in the morning, but wasn't featured on NBC until the primetime show.  So, they still managed to have something "new" on primetime every night.

Let's not forget the setting of the last two Olympics, either.  Paris is Paris.  It sells itself.  Milan does, too, in many ways.  Highlighting Milan and highlighting Italy is a winning strategy.  And it's one that really only works with those classic European locations framed with so much culture and so much history.  (I'm not a fan of the Snoop Dogg filler segments, but Mike Tirico and NBC seem to be, so it's doubtful they're going anywhere.)

When they first started making every event available live on streaming, some people thought NBC was cannibalizing itself and that it would eat into their linear television audience.  If anything, it's had the opposite effect.  People will stream it live and watch it on TV later.  Or they'll watch it live on USA in the morning before NBC shows it later in the day during their coverage.  Giving people a streaming option has only enhanced NBC's reach.  Because it wasn't just the Peacock-exclusive stuff available online.  All of NBC's broadcast and cable coverage was streamed, as well.  So, they could "watch" NBC even without watching NBC.

Up next, of course, is Los Angeles, where coverage will be completely different than the two most recent European Olympics.  Nothing will happen in the East Coast's morning.  Everything will be live, including the late night show.  It'll be NBC's first mostly-live Olympics since Rio 2016, and there won't be nearly as much room for the ridiculous filler.  But they'll also take some of the things they did well during their coverage in Paris and Milan Cortina and do them again in LA.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway here, though, is that those reports that "no one" watches the Olympics anymore were greatly exaggerated.  Paris was the perfect storm.  But it wasn't a fluke.  That momentum carried over to February 2026 and the Milan Cortina Olympics.  That enthusiasm for the Olympics is back.  NBC has 17 days' worth of viewership numbers that prove it.