NBC’s Olympic Hockey Gamble Scores Record-Shattering Ratings With Over 26M Viewers

Team USA's men's hockey gold medal win over Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics delivered blockbuster ratings for NBCUniversal, proving that classic rivalries and appointment-viewing sports remain a powerful draw in the streaming era.

• By the numbers: The game drew a total audience of nearly 21 million viewers, peaking at 26 million for the game-winning goal, according to company figures. The live broadcast on NBC and Peacock alone commanded the majority of the massive audience for a game that started before 9 a.m. on the East Coast.

• Rewriting the record books: The broadcast now ranks as NBC Sports’ second most-watched hockey game ever, trailing only the legendary 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver. The strong viewership also made it the most-watched U.S. sporting event in history for its early morning time slot, according to ESPN.

• A rising tide: The hockey finals were the exclamation point on a banner Olympics for NBCUniversal, with viewership for the Milan Cortina Games nearly doubling that of the 2022 Beijing Games. The women's hockey final also delivered, becoming the most-watched women's hockey game on record with nearly 8 million viewers during its peak.

The impressive numbers highlight the enduring power of live sports to capture massive, simultaneous audiences—a crucial advantage for legacy media companies navigating the fragmented entertainment landscape. But the hockey finals weren't an isolated success; the Milan Cortina games overall marked a major viewership rebound for the Winter Olympics, capping a successful broadcast presentation for NBCUniversal.