YouTube viewership trends from official broadcasters, creators and fans during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
Mar 23, 2026 [[read-time]] minute read
The flame has been extinguished, and after two weeks of nonstop action across the Italian Alps and Milan, the dust—and snow—is finally settling. Here’s how the world followed the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on YouTube, watching viral global moments from official broadcasters and getting behind-the-scenes access to the athletes and culture that defined the Games.
During the 2026 Winter Olympics, we saw over 500M unique viewers watching a total of more than 20B minutes (over 330M hours) of Olympics content on YouTube, including from official broadcasters.
We worked with official broadcasting partners — including NBCUniversal, Eurosport, CBC, the Japan Consortium (JC), and the International Olympic Committee’s @Olympics YouTube channel to deliver an electrifying sampling of Olympics coverage. During the 2026 Winter Olympics, we saw over 500M unique viewers spend more than 20B minutes (over 330M hours) of watchtime on Olympics content on YouTube, including content from official broadcasters, creators and fans from around the world.1
The 2026 Winter Olympics were a shared experience, with the Living Room serving as a central hub to watch official broadcasters’ highlights and livestreams in select territories with Infront Sports & Media in several APAC markets and CazéTV in Brazil. Over 70% of all Olympics watchtime happened in the Living Room, accounting for more than 14B minutes (over 230M hours) of content watched.2
Olympics content on YouTube also saw a significant surge in engagement from younger audiences, with over a 150% increase in views from those aged 18-34 compared to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.3 This audience redefined what it means to be a fan, and we met the moment by pairing official broadcasts and highlights with a complementary lens from creators on the ground.
As part of NBCUniversal’s Milan Cortina Creator Collective in the US and together with the International Olympic Committee at a global level, we brought leading creators to Milano Cortina 2026 who gave viewers unique access to the Games. Whether it was Kylie and Jason Kelce trying their hand at curling, Cleo Abram breaking down the physics, Megan Thee Stallion taking us to Hot Girl Winter Bootcamp or Nick DiGiovanni making rare Olympics pasta, creator perspectives brought the story of the Games to life.
Milano Cortina 2026 was more connected and more personal than ever before. Thank you to the athletes who pushed the limits and the fans who made every second count.
- Source: YT Internal Data, Global, 2/4/2026 - 2/23/2026
- Source: YT Internal Data, Global, 2/4/2026 - 2/23/2026
- Source: YT Internal Data, Global, signed-in users, 2/2/2022 - 2/20/2022 vs 2/4/2026-2/23/2026