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The Olympics are back, with the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games set to provide wall-to-wall action for more than two weeks.
While sports fans can rejoice in being able to watch world-class athletes compete at virtually any time, day, or night during that span, it can almost be too much of a good thing.
Between broadcast television slots and live streams of every event, more than 3,200 hours of Winter Olympics coverage will be available to U.S. viewers, from hockey to ski mountaineering. No one can watch it all, so decisions have to be made.
With that in mind, The Sporting News has assembled a viewer's guide to the Milan Cortina Games, highlighting key events and letting you know when and where to tune in to watch Olympic history in the making.
Where to watch Winter Olympics 2026
- TV channels: NBC, USA Network, CNBC
- Live streams: Peacock
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be broadcast over the air mostly on NBC and USA Network, with select events also showing on CNBC.
Peacock will carry every event of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics live. The NBC-owned streaming service's sports programming features live coverage of NFL Sunday Night Football, the NBA, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Premier League soccer, Big Ten football and basketball, Notre Dame football, Big East and Big 12 basketball, PGA Tour golf, and more.
Winter Olympics 2026 viewer's guide
The best part about being an Olympics fan in 2026 is that you can watch literally every event of the Winter Games live via Peacock. The full viewing schedule can be difficult to digest, though, so here's a rundown of how to watch some of the most anticipated competitions.
Friday, Feb. 6: Figure skating team event begins
- Watch live: 4 a.m. ET (Rhythm Dance); 5:35 a.m. ET (Pairs Short Program); 7:35 a.m. ET (Women's Short Program) on USA, Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: 12 p.m. ET (Rhythm Dance); 12:30 p.m. ET (Pairs Short Program); 1 p.m. ET (Women's Short Program) on NBC
The figure skating team event stretches across the first three days of the Olympics, encompassing all four disciplines to crown an overall champion. The opening puts the spotlight on ice dance, pairs and women's singles competitors in their first of two routines during the team competition.
Saturday's slate features men's singles and the conclusion of ice dancing, while Sunday will culminate in pairs, women's singles and men's singles. Can Team USA repeat after winning gold in 2022? Tune in to find out.
Friday, Feb. 6: Opening Ceremony
- Watch live: 2 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: 8 p.m. ET on NBC
From the parade of nations to performances from the likes of Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli to the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons — there will be two this year — the Opening Ceremony never fails to produce memorable moments.
Saturday, Feb. 7: Jessie Diggins in skiathlon
- Watch live: 7 a.m. ET on NBC, Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: 5 p.m. ET on NBC
Cross-country skiing has been part of the Olympics since the first Winter Games in 1924 but the United States only won four total medals in the sport. Jessie Diggins has won three of them, taking gold with Kikkan Randall in the team sprint in 2018 and a pair of individual medals four years ago in Beijing: silver in the 30km freestyle and bronze in the individual sprint. Diggins could compete in up to six events in Milan Cortina and skiathlon is up first. She has finished sixth, fifth and eighth in the event at the last three Olympics but will look to get on the podium in 2026.
Sunday, Feb. 8: Lindsey Vonn in downhill
- Watch live: 5:30 a.m. ET on Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: 9:20 a.m. on NBC
U.S. fans will have to get up early to watch Lindsey Vonn race in her best event. The 41-year-old legend's remarkable return from retirement positioned her as a legitimate medal threat, but a torn ACL suffered in her final run before the Olympics could dampen those hopes. Still, Vonn says she plans to compete anyway, and that will be must-watch drama.
Tuesday, Feb. 10: USA vs. Canada in women's hockey
- Watch live: 2:10 p.m. ET on USA, Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: 11 p.m. ET on USA
The U.S. and Canada have faced off in six of the seven Olympic women's hockey gold medal games to date. They may do so again in 2026, but first they'll face off in the final Group A game before the knockout rounds begin. Tune in to watch Team USA legend Hilary Knight lead her team against Marie-Philip Poulin and Team Canada.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Jordan Stolz in speed skating 1000m
- Watch live: 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock
At age 21, Jordan Stolz has positioned himself as the next U.S. speed skating superstar. The Wisconsin native swept gold in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships and is expected to make multiple trips up the podium at Milan Cortina. The 1000m is his first shot at a medal in 2026.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Madison Chock and Evan Bates in ice dancing free dance
- Watch live: 2:15 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock
The American duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates has finished atop the ice dance podium at the last three World Championships. That makes the married couple a heavy favorite in Milan, where they will look for redemption after a fourth-place finish in Beijing.
Thursday, Feb. 12: USA, Canada NHL stars return to Olympics
- Watch live: Canada vs. Czechia at 10:40 a.m. ET and USA vs. Latvia at 3:10 p.m. ET on USA, Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: Canada vs. Czechia at 6 p.m. ET and USA vs. Latvia at 11 p.m. ET on USA
Men's hockey is one of the most popular attractions at any Olympics, but the 2026 Games will reach a higher level with NHL players back in the fold. While the men's competition starts on Feb. 11, Canada and the U.S. open play the following day. Here's your first chance to watch Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Cale Makar play together for Team Canada at the Olympics, along with Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Connor Hellebuyck and Co. joining forces with Team USA.
Friday, Feb. 13: USA vs. Canada in men's and women's curling
- Watch live: USA vs. Canada men at 3 a.m. ET on USA, Peacock; USA vs. Canada women at 8:05 a.m. ET on Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: Highlights show 5 p.m. ET on CNBC
Get out your brooms for a pair of cross-border battles in curling. The USA and Canada face off in men's and women's round-robin play, with the Americans in the underdog role in both games after having to survive last-chance qualifiers just to make the Olympics. Either way, facing Canada undoubtedly will bring out the best in the USA teams led by Danny Casper and Tabitha Peterson.
Friday, Feb. 13: Ilia Malinin in free skate
- Watch live: 3 p.m. ET on NBC, USA
Three days after his short program, "Quad God," Ilia Malinin will look to lock up a gold medal with a free skate routine that could be the most difficult ever attempted. The 21-year-old from Virginia landed an unprecedented seven quadruple jumps in his ISU Grand Prix Final free skate in Japan two months ago and is expected to try and replicate that feat in the Olympics.
Sunday, Feb. 15: Mikaela Shiffrin in giant slalom
- Watch live: First run at 4 a.m. ET on USA, Peacock; second run at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBC, Peacock
Mikaela Shiffrin's first shot at an individual medal in 2026 should come in the giant slalom, which she won at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. She'll be looking for redemption after crashing out of her first GS run in Beijing four years ago, one of a series of calamities that left her without a medal at the 2022 Games.
Thursday, Feb. 19: Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito in free skate
- Watch live: 1 p.m. NBC, Peacock
The U.S. could be in line for multiple podium spots in women's figure skating with the last two Grand Prix Final winners, Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu, set to compete in Milan. While Glenn beat out Liu for gold at the recent U.S. Championships, Liu won the World Championships last year. And don't count out the 18-year-old Levito, who took silver at Worlds in 2024 and won the U.S. title in 2023.
Sunday, Feb. 22: Men's hockey gold medal game
- Watch live: 8:10 a.m. ET on NBC, Peacock
- Delayed broadcast: 4:30 p.m. on USA
The Milan Cortina Games will save one of the best for last, as the men's hockey gold medal game is the final event before the Closing Ceremony. With NHL players back in the Games for the first time since 2014, the final should feature world-class talent no matter who makes it to the gold medal game.
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