A sizable number of Americans are watching or planning to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, according to a new poll from the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics.
This finding aligns with early media metrics, as U.S. broadcast and streaming audiences have surged compared with recent Winter Olympics, according to NBC News.
Highlights — at least for American audiences — from the 2026 Winter Olympics so far include:
- Team USA speedskater Jordan Stolz won gold in the men’s 1,000 meters, setting an Olympic record with a time of 1:06.28.
- Elizabeth Lemley, the youngest member of the U.S. moguls team and a first-time Olympian, captured gold in women’s moguls freestyle skiing.
- The seven-member U.S. Olympic figure skating team won gold, highlighted by standout performances from husband-and-wife duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
The poll, conducted Feb. 10–13 by Morning Consult, found that 38% of registered U.S. voters had already watched the Olympics, which began on Feb. 6, on TV or via streaming.
Another 22% said they planned to watch, while 32% said they would not tune in and 8% were unsure.
The poll surveyed 2,002 registered U.S. voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.
Favorable time zones boost national numbers
According to national reports, viewership data through the first five days of competition show an average of about 26.5 million viewers daily across NBC, Peacock, USA Network and other digital platforms.
According to Front Office Sports, that’s a 93% increase from the same time period during the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and the highest such figure since the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Further, NBC Sports reports that streams of Olympic content have also climbed sharply, with 6.3 billion viewing minutes logged on Peacock alone — topping the last two Winter Games combined.
While Summer Olympics routinely draw 50%–100% more viewers than the Winter Games due to their larger scale, the relatively favorable European time zone for U.S. audiences — a six-hour difference from the East Coast — has likely helped boost live viewership for the 2026 Winter Olympics, especially compared with the previous two Winter Games held in Asia.
Historically, Utahns love to watch Olympic competition
With 81 Team USA athletes competing in Milan Cortina who have Utah ties, it’s no surprise that Utahns are watching at rates that often exceed the national average. Local pride appears to be driving even greater engagement this year.
The Salt Lake City market has led U.S. Olympic prime-time ratings for multiple Games, including the 2012 London Summer Olympics, when it was the top Olympic metered market for the seventh consecutive Games, according to NBC Sports, and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, where it topped NBC’s prime-time coverage four of five nights, according to Sports Business Journal.
This year, Salt Lake City is showing the Winter Games nightly at the Civic Center, with food trucks, live music, and other activities to encourage Utahns to gather with friends and neighbors to watch local athletes compete in Italy.
According to Deseret News reporter Dennis Romboy, a separate Reviews.org poll found that 72% of Americans plan to watch the 2026 Winter Games, with Utahns showing particularly strong enthusiasm for events such as bobsled, perhaps due to the world-renowned track at Utah Olympic Park.
Romboy noted that a state-by-state breakdown by Reviews.org named bobsled Utah’s top Winter Olympic sport, ahead of national favorites like snowboarding.
Looking ahead
The next three Olympics include the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Utah Winter Games. Ahead of the July 2024 announcement, Deseret News/Hinckley Institute polling showed 79% of Utahns supported hosting the Games for a second time.
With venues already in place from 2002 and a new generation of athletes emerging, along with strong fan engagement, Utah appears ready to lead the charge once again eight years from now.