Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), the home of the Olympics in Europe, has reported “significant growth in viewership and engagement” across key channels and services in Europe through the opening days of Olympic Winter Games Milan-Cortina 2026.

Highlights across the first four days of full competition (February 6th-9th), as well as two days prior to the Opening Ceremony featuring sports events, include:

Across all channels and services (pay-tv and streaming):

• Viewers across Europe are consuming significantly more Olympics coverage and content than the previous Winter Games.
  • Best streaming Olympic Winter Games ever on WBD services (HBO Max and discovery) vs Beijing 2022 and PyeongChang 2018.
  • More than one-third more hours of content have been consumed (+39 per cent vs Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 at the same stage).

Across streaming (HBO Max and discovery+):

• More people in Europe are streaming Olympics content compared to the previous Winter Games. Across HBO Max and discovery+:
  • Triple-digit percentage growth in total hours viewed (+102% vs Beijing 2022) – including triple-digit growth in France, Germany, Italy (on HBO Max) and UK (discovery+).
  • The number of subscribers streaming Milan-Cortina 2026 content exceeded those that viewed the entire Beijing 2022 Games after only 3 days
  • Subscribers watching the Olympics are also viewing substantial amounts of entertainment content.
    • Most-viewed streaming titles for Olympics viewers include Heated Rivalry and Season 2 of The Pitt, both recently launched on HBO Max.

Across linear (Eurosport in Europe; TNT Sports in the UK & Ireland):

• Strong linear growth vs Beijing 2022 (+33 per cent) including in several of Europe’s biggest markets, a reverse of year-on-year declines in total TV consumption over this period.
• France
  • Eurosport channels +47 per cent in hours viewed vs Beijing 2022.
• Germany
  • Eurosport linear +50 per cent hours viewed vs Beijing 2022.
• UK & Ireland:
  • TNT Sports channels +60 per cent hours viewed vs Beijing 2022.

Commenting on the opening days of Olympic Winter Games Milan-Cortina 2026, Andrew Georgiou, President & Managing Director WBD Sports Europe, commented: “We are delighted with the significant increase in viewership and engagement seen during the first week of the Games, demonstrating that our coverage on both Eurosport, across Europe, and TNT Sports, in the UK, is being recognised locally as the go to destinations for leading sports coverage. This quality, coupled with our streaming platforms HBO Max and discovery+ being the only place to ensure you can watch every moment and every medal, has delivered incredible viewing experiences and results out of the gate.”

Live coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 runs until February 22nd.

Other posts by :

1. SpaceX gets a portion of India
2. TerreStar wants to build LEO network
3. Musk: “No Starlink phone”
4. Russia accused of eavesdropping on satellites
5. FCC welcomes Musk’s 1m satellite plan
6. Telesat has problems with an LEO
7. Orbital debris a real danger 
8. India boosts space budget
9. Blue Origin drops passenger flights

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Content, Research

Tags: discovery, HBO Max, WBD, winter olympics