Milan Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony Records Massive Increase In Viewership From Beijing

According to Auditel, the Winter Olympics opening ceremony drew a viewership of 9.2 million in Italy, while 21.4 million tuned in to the NBC-Peacock broadcast.

Milan Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony Records Massive Increase In Viewership From Beijing

The unveiling of the Olympic Rings during the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in San Siro Stadium (Image via Associated Press)

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The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony recorded a massive increase in viewership, a 34% increase from the numbers four years ago when Beijing hosted the Games. According to preliminary data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics, NBC and Peacock averaged just about 21.4 million viewers.

The Opening Ceremony became the most-viewed Winter Olympics stream for NBCUniversal. There are a few contextual reasons to consider the meteoric rise in viewership.

In 2022, Peacock had around 16 million subscribers across standalone viewers and paid bundle subscribers. In comparison, the channel now has over 44 million subscribers. Furthermore, Milan’s just six hours ahead of the USA as opposed to a 13-hour difference with Beijing.

There has been an increase in sports viewership after Paris 2024, which revived the Olympic passion among people. The storylines at Paris, be it Armand Duplantis’ world-breaking gold medal or Kim Ye-Ji’s nonchalant shooting or the romantic proposals, resonated with the fans across the globe.

The opening ceremony, set on the theme of “Armonia,” had 1,200 volunteers and 1,400 costumes and a 61,000 at San Siro Stadium in Milan. The ceremony, first-of-its-kind with events across four cities, started with a museum-setting retelling of the Cupid and Psyche story as a tribute to the early modern-era sculptor Antonio Canova. The event rolled with several exhilarating performances, including Mariah Carey’s staging and a colorful tapestry resembling the Italian flag carried the flag, handing it over to the Carabinieri.

The Olympic rings were unveiled in a vibrant display, which was then followed by a parade of nations in all four cities. In true Italian fashion, Brenda Lodigiani delivered a lesson on their hand gestures. One of the iconic parts of the event was Andrea Bocelli’s soul-awakening rendition of “Nessun Dorma.” The glorious Valentina from The White Lotus, Sabrina Impacciatore, delivered one of the show-stoppers.

In terms of official formalities, Sergio Mattarella opened the Games, and the cauldron was lit in two venues at the same time for the first time. Alpine skiers Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba in Milan, and Sofia Goggia set fire to cauldrons inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s knot design in Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo, respectively.

Accusations of censorship and commercialization blemish the NBC’s Opening Ceremony broadcast

The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony briefly became a stage for social activism. The San Siro Stadium was in awe of the wonderful mosaic of a celebration that unfolded in front of fans’ eyes, cheering on the artists on stage and the athletes when they walked in.

Team USA being led by Erin Jackson into the Winter Olympics during the parade of nations
Team USA, led by Erin Jackson, walks into the Winter Olympics during the parade of nations (Image via Guardian)

For a brief period, the cheers became boos when the US vice president and his wife, JD Vance and Usha Vance, were shown on screen during Team USA’s entrance. The boos were concentrated at the appearance of the political figures, before shifting to cheers as the screen went back to showing the athletes.

The boos were picked up by CBS’s feed and reported by prominent international media houses. However, it was reportedly cut from NBC and Peacock’s feed, prompting accusations of censorship from viewers. Nonetheless, this wasn’t the first time there have been similar cuts or deviations. During the US Open, the broadcasters were requested to avoid showing any sort of dissent towards Donald Trump.

In addition to the censorship accusations, viewers also called out the broadcaster for the high number of commercial breaks during the Opening Ceremony. There were commercial spots between performances, anthems, and even during the parade of nations. Reportedly, a considerable number of nations at the top of the alphabetical order were not shown properly, with frequent adverts pushed into the feed.

Among others, viewers noted that a certain Mario Galaxy promo was played multiple times during the coverage.

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