The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics began with a spectacular opening ceremony that drew in an impressive 21.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, as reported by preliminary Nielsen ratings and data from Adobe Analytics. The official Nielsen Big Data + Panel viewership numbers will be released on Tuesday. NBCUniversal has stated that this year’s Winter Olympics opening ceremony saw a 34% increase in viewership compared to the one that launched the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The ceremony, broadcast live from Italy, was split into an afternoon broadcast (“Milan Prime”) followed by a primetime presentation. NBC Sports president Rick Cordella expressed excitement over the strong start to the Olympics, praising the captivating opening ceremony that showcased the historic cities, picturesque mountain regions, and the Parade of Athletes. He mentioned that the audience exceeded their expectations, setting a positive tone for the upcoming two weeks of competition.
In addition to traditional TV viewership, the opening ceremony also garnered over 3 million viewers on Peacock, marking it as the most streamed Winter Games event. NBCU highlighted that streaming consumption for the Milan Cortina Olympics surpassed 700 million minutes through Friday, a record high for a Winter Games and 2.5 times more than the 2022 Beijing Olympics at a similar point in time.
The success of the opening ceremony extended to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” which saw its highest viewership since Thanksgiving with 2.3 million viewers tuning in.
Looking ahead, NBC plans to maintain its focus on the Winter Olympics, foregoing the opportunity to promote new entertainment programs after the Super Bowl on Sunday. Following the Super Bowl LX, NBC Sports will transition to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics primetime show, “Primetime in Milan,” featuring events like the women’s downhill competition and team figure skating, including Lindsey Vonn’s quest for gold in her comeback.
Overall, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics have started on a high note, capturing the attention of millions of viewers across different platforms and setting the stage for thrilling athletic competitions in the days to come.
