Milano Cortina 2026 is most-watched Paralympic Winter Games on record in the USA

In the USA, NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games was the most-watched Winter Paralympics on record, reaching 22.7 million total viewers (TV only) over 10 days, and almost doubling the total viewership for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, according to official live + same day Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

NBCU’s coverage also featured the most-watched Paralympic Winter Games telecast on record, the most-watched Para ice hockey game on record, the most-watched Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony since 2002, and a Paralympics streaming record.

Alexa Pritting, Supervising Producer, NBC Paralympics, said: “With the gorgeous backdrop of Northern Italy and spectacular performances of Team USA, Milano Cortina 2026 set a new standard of excellence for our Winter Paralympic production. From a record number of hours on NBC, including Team USA’s historic win in the record-setting sled hockey gold medal game against rival Canada, and continued comprehensive coverage across our linear and digital platforms, these Games were elevated to the national spotlight they so rightly deserved.”

Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics, said: “With Winter Paralympic viewership almost doubling since Beijing 2022, it’s undeniable that the Paralympic movement is growing at a rapid pace. We’re honored to give these incredible athletes and stories a national platform and understand the seismic impact the LA28 Games will have on Para sports both in the U.S. and globally. We could not be more ready to build off this momentum for the first Summer Paralympic Games on home soil in over three decades.”

The record 22.7 million total viewers for Milano Cortina 2026 is up 90 per cent against Beijing 2022 (11.9 million) and up 47 percent compared to Paris 2024 Paralympic Games(15.4 million).

The live Opening Ceremony on March 6 on USA Network and Peacock, from historic Verona Olympic Arena, ranks as the most-watched Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony since the Salt Lake City 2002 Opening Ceremony and doubling viewership compared to the Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony.

Team USA’s 6-2 win over Canada in the Para ice hockey gold medal game on 15 March averaged at 1.2 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and CNBC making it the most-watched Para ice hockey game on record, surpassing the prior record of 869,000 viewers set at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Led by Peacock’s comprehensive coverage, Milano Cortina 2026 was also the most-streamed Paralympic Winter Games of all time, compiling nearly 100 million total minutes (99.4), five times as many as Beijing 2022. Additionally, Milano Cortina 2026 digital viewership was four times higher than all prior Winter Paralympics digital viewership combined.

In addition to NBCUniversal’s record viewing figures, the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) digital channels enjoyed record breaking results during the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games with the performance of some channels surpassing not just the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games but the whole year of 2024.

Across all @Paralympics channels, there were 648 million video views during 12 days of sporting competition, a staggering 3,144 percent increase on the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. The number of video views is also more than two times the 305 million views across IPC channels during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games which featured more sports and more days of competition.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games were a record-breaking success with a record 611 Para athletes from 55 NPCs contesting 79 medal events.  For the fourth successive Paralympic Winter Games there were a record number 160 female athletes, 18 per cent more than Beijing 2022.

Highlighting the growing strength of Paralympic winter sport, 27 NPCs won medals, the highest number ever. Eighteen NPCs won gold medals a joint record high, equalling the record set at PyeongChang 2018.