How to Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics: US TV, Streaming, and Schedule Guide
The 2026 Winter Olympics return this month as athletes from around the world gather in northern Italy for the Milan Cortina Games. The quadrennial event begins with training and preliminary heats on Wednesday, Feb. 4, before ramping up with Friday’s opening ceremony and continuing through late February.
A total of 93 countries will compete across 16 winter sports, with medal events spread over 19 days. For viewers in the United States, navigating schedules, time differences, and broadcast options will be key.
2026 Winter Olympics basics
- Host country: Italy (Milan and Cortina)
- Opening ceremony: Friday, Feb. 6
- Closing ceremony: Sunday, Feb. 22
- Time difference: Italy is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Time and 9 hours ahead of Pacific Time
How to watch in the United States
NBC holds exclusive Olympic broadcast rights in the US and is spreading coverage across multiple platforms to accommodate the volume of events.
TV channels
- NBC: Live daytime coverage, weekend mornings, and nightly “Primetime in Milan” highlights
- USA Network: Live, extended coverage of US teams
- CNBC: Curling and additional events after business programming
- NBC Sports Network: “Gold Zone” whip-around and multiview coverage
NBC is available free over the air, while NBC.com and the NBC Sports app will offer replays.
Streaming options
- Peacock: 24/7 live streams and “Gold Zone” coverage
- NBCOlympics.com: Live and on-demand content with a pay-TV login
- NBC Sports app: Streaming access for authenticated users
Daily programming highlights
NBC’s daytime coverage will feature at least five hours of Olympic programming each day, hosted by Rebecca Lowe. Each evening, “Primetime in Milan” delivers three hours of highlights, followed by “Olympic Late Night.”
The opening ceremony will air live during the day on NBC and Peacock, with a prime-time encore later that night. Coverage will include commentary from Terry Gannon, Mary Carillo, and retired Olympic champion Shaun White.
“Gold Zone” returns with a format similar to NFL RedZone, featuring Scott Hanson and Andrew Siciliano, with Ashley Wagner joining as an analyst.
Sports and schedule overview (ET)
- Alpine skiing: Feb. 4–18
- Biathlon: Feb. 8–21
- Bobsled: Feb. 12–22
- Cross-country skiing: Feb. 7–22
- Curling: Feb. 4–22
- Figure skating: Feb. 6–21
- Freestyle skiing: Feb. 7–21
- Ice hockey: Feb. 5–22
- Luge: Feb. 4–12
- Nordic combined: Feb. 9–19
- Short-track speed skating: Feb. 10–20
- Skeleton: Feb. 9–15
- Ski jumping: Feb. 5–16
- Ski mountaineering: Feb. 19–21
- Snowboarding: Feb. 5–18
- Speed skating: Feb. 7–21
Key medal events to watch
- Men’s alpine downhill: Saturday, Feb. 7 – 5:30 a.m.
- Women’s alpine downhill: Sunday, Feb. 8 – 5:30 a.m.
- Women’s 1000m speed skating: Monday, Feb. 9 – 11:30 a.m.
- Men’s 1000m speed skating: Wednesday, Feb. 11 – 12:30 p.m.
- Women’s snowboard halfpipe: Thursday, Feb. 12 – 1:30 p.m.
- Men’s snowboard halfpipe: Friday, Feb. 13 – 1:30 p.m.
- Women’s figure skating free skate: Thursday, Feb. 19 – 1:00 p.m.
Team USA hockey schedule (ET)
NHL players are eligible again, adding star power to the tournament.
Men’s team
- Vs. Latvia: Thursday, Feb. 12 – 3:10 p.m.
- Vs. Denmark: Saturday, Feb. 14 – 3:10 p.m.
- Vs. Germany: Sunday, Feb. 15 – 3:10 p.m.
- Gold medal game: Sunday, Feb. 22 – 8:10 a.m.
Women’s team
- Vs. Czechia: Thursday, Feb. 5 – 10:40 a.m.
- Vs. Finland: Saturday, Feb. 7 – 10:40 a.m.
- Vs. Canada: Tuesday, Feb. 10 – 2:10 p.m.
- Gold medal game: Thursday, Feb. 19 – 1:10 p.m.
US athletes to watch
Snowboarder Chloe Kim looks to make history with a third straight Olympic gold in the women’s halfpipe. Alpine skiing features a high-profile return for Lindsey Vonn, while Mikaela Shiffrin enters the Games as the most decorated skier in World Cup history.
Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins is expected to make her final Olympic appearance, closing out a career that helped end a decades-long medal drought for Team USA.
The Milan Cortina Games promise two weeks of packed competition, early-morning starts, and wall-to-wall coverage for US fans.
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