Men’s sports received more airtime than women’s sports by more than a 6 to 1 margin during NBC’s primetime Olympic broadcast on Friday, February 13, 2026.
Four men’s events had more than one minute of coverage.
Men’s Figure Skating had just over 1 hour, 15 and a half minutes of coverage for the free skate, where Team USA’s Ilia Malinin dropped from first place after the short program to 8th place overall.
Men’s snowboarding had nearly 29 and a half minutes covering the halfpipe final and a profile of Team Australia’s Scotty James, who won the silver medal in the event.
Men’s Cross Country Skiing had more than 2 and a half minutes covering Norway’s Johanne Høsflot Klæbo winning his 3rdgold (out of 3 events) in these Games, and his 8th gold medal overall.
Men’s Speed Skating had more than 1 minute of airtime with highlights of the 10,000 meter race.
Two women’s event received more than one minute of airtime.
Women’s Snowboarding had more than 14 and a half minutes of coverage for the snowboard cross semi-finals and finals.
Women’s Ice Hockey had more than 1 minute of airtime featuring Team USA’s win over Italy in the quarterfinals
No mixed events had more than one minute of coverage.
Overall, coverage of men’s events accounted for 86.73% of NBC’s primetime Olympic broadcast. Women’s events received 13.23% of the coverage. Mixed sex events (e.g., ice dancing) received 0.04% of NBC’s coverage.
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When mixed sex events are excluded, men’s sports received 86.77% of NBC’s coverage compared to 13.23% for women’s sports.
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Regular updates about NBC’s primetime coverage of men’s and women’s sports will be posted throughout the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games on FiveRingTV.com. Updates are also be posted on the @FiveRingTV X feed and the @FiveRingTV Bluesky feed. A mid-Olympic report, with complete sport-by-sport coverage breakdowns, will also be issued.
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Method: The percentage of primetime devoted to men’s, women’s and mixed sex sports is calculated by a single researcher, utilizing a stopwatch and DVR or DVD time codes, measuring (to the millisecond) the total amount of time devoted to each event. Any time spent at the actual athletic site, on a profile about an athlete, promos about a specific athlete or sport, and host commentary about a specific sport or athlete is recorded. Split screens combining commercials and live coverage are included in the calculations, but commercial breaks are not included. The NBC broadcast network East Coast feed is used for the calculations. Olympic coverage on cable networks and live streaming are not included. Network overruns beyond 11:00pm up to the break for local news are included within the calculations.
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Olympic Television: Broadcasting the Biggest Show on Earth contains a detailed 20-year examination of how male and female athletes have been covered within primetime Olympic broadcasts. The book also has analyses of how race/ethnicity and nationality impact Olympic coverage, interviews with NBC personnel about the content and production of Olympic broadcasts, and a detailed overview of Olympic television history. Published by Routledge, it is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats at Amazon.com, the Routledge website, and other outlets.
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