BBC Sport’s coverage of the Winter Olympic Games 2026 has achieved its largest overall audience consumption ever, with a record-breaking surge in streaming.

Across the Winter Olympic Games in 2026, there were 83 million streams and over 44 million total streamed hours online via BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app, with 26.3 million viewers tuning in to the TV coverage.

The figures represent a significant overall consumption increase on previous Winter Olympic Games. The Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022 saw 31.4 million streams and a TV audience of 26 million.

While linear TV viewing figures reflect broader industry trends, digital consumption has accelerated at scale, said the BBC. The growth in digital audiences has not only offset the gradual shift away from traditional TV viewing but has significantly expanded the Games’ footprint, making this the most widely consumed Winter Olympic Games on the BBC.

During the Winter Olympics Games, BBC Sport recorded its highest-performing digital week for individual accounts in two years, with 12.23 million accounts consuming digital content across BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. It’s the biggest weekly digital account audience since the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics – a clear indication of the Games’ powerful pull with digital audiences.

BBC Sport’s YouTube performance during the Winter Olympics delivered record-breaking growth, with total views up 390 per cent on the previous Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, reaching 8.8 million across the Games. Audience engagement surged in parallel, with overall watch time totalling 590,000 hours – more than quadruple the figure from the last Games – and viewers watching for an average of 5 minutes and 9 seconds per video, demonstrating deeper, more sustained interest. The standout performer of the Games was Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson’s Spice Girls–inspired figure skating team event debut, which became the most-watched piece of Winter Olympics content on BBC Sport’s YouTube channel with 449k views.

BBC Sport’s social coverage at the Winter Olympics generated a 235 million views across the Games. The tournament’s biggest viral moment came on TikTok, via a compilation of ski jumpers warming up before their event. The clip racked up more than 6 million views on TikTok becoming the most-viewed individual BBC Sport social video of the Games.

Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale’s historic first ever Team GB gold on snow delivered 8.3 million social views in total, with Charlotte’s dramatic final run earning more than 5.8 million views on TikTok alone. Elsewhere, the moment Chris Hughes trained with Team GB’s Bobsleigh team and had his worried girlfriend JoJo Siwa begging for “proof of life” after his training run delivered 5.1 million views across the social media channels, proving how even away from the professional action there was audience appetite for alternative Winter Olympic Games content.

The BBC Sport website delivered expert insight around the curling controversy, which saw huge numbers flock to the site to understand what happened when Canada’s Marc Kennedy became embroiled in a heated exchange with Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson over a debated ‘double tap’ during their 8–6 clash. A BBC Sport explainer story breaking down the rules and why no disqualification followed drew over 2 million page views to a single story, proving audiences weren’t just watching the drama, but actively seeking clarity and expert analysis.

Some 16.3 million unique visitors used the BBC Sport website and app to follow the latest news from Milan-Cortina across the Winter Olympic Games 2026.

On TV, the Team GB men’s Curling team bringing home the Silver medal in a nail-biting final against Canada saw the biggest peak of the fortnight with 5.5 million tuning in on BBC One. The BBC’s TV coverage reached a total of 26.3 million.

In 2026, more people than ever experienced the Winter Olympic Games with BBC Sport and the Winter Olympics was also the most viewed brand for under-16s last week.

Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport, commented: “From unforgettable human moments to technical sporting insight, BBC Sport didn’t just cover this year’s Winter Olympic Games, it delivered conversation and insight around them that got audiences talking and engaging more than ever. Record audiences came to the BBC to experience our multi-platform coverage – whether that was a viral social media clip, an in-depth explainer on the website, a bespoke digital film for iPlayer, or watching the drama unfold live on TV. I’m hugely proud of the teams who worked tirelessly to deliver such an outstanding Games for existing and new audiences”.

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Tags: BBC, BBC Sport, winter olympics