People in the Twin Cities are tuning in to the 2026 Winter Olympics at rates higher than in any other U.S. metro area, according to NBC officials. More than half of those watching TV during the afternoon and primetime hours have viewed NBC’s coverage of the Milan Cortina games as of Monday, Feb. 16.
There is the obvious draw: 37 athletes from Minnesota or with Minnesota ties are competing in this year’s winter games. It’s possible Twin Cities residents also tuned in for a break from news around Operation Metro Surge, though local viewership numbers remained high even after immigration agents began withdrawing.
In terms of ratings, which measures total potential audience and not just those watching TV at a given time, 14% of all homes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul media market have watched the Winter Olympics on NBC. That’s tied with Milwaukee, which shares a similar climate and familiarity with winter sports.
But it’s not just chilly locales that like to watch figure skating, ice hockey and curling. As of Feb. 12, Minneapolis-St. Paul was tied with Fort Myers, Fla., for local Olympics ratings. Other cities with high local Olympics viewership include Oklahoma City and Cincinnati.
On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. viewership averaged 20.2 million during the afternoon and evening hours, when American Mikaela Shiffrin won gold in the slalom and the men’s hockey quarterfinals took centerstage. NBC noted in a news release that Thursday was the 13th consecutive day in which at least 20 million American homes have watched since the Olympics began Feb. 4.
NBC officials say the Milan Cortina games are the best-watched since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Norway leads the medal count with 34 overall, including 16 gold. The United States has nine gold medals and 27 overall, while host country Italy ranks third in medals won with 26.
The Olympics end on Sunday, Feb. 22.
