Women’s sports received more airtime than men’s sports by more than a 5 to 1 margin during NBC’s primetime Olympic broadcast on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
Three men’s events had more than one minute of coverage.
Men’s Freestyle Skiing had more than 5 and a half minutes of airtime for the dual moguls final.
Men’s Cross Country Skiing had nearly 3 minutes of coverage for the 4 x 7.5 km relay and Norway’s Johanne Høsflot Klæbo winning his 9thgold medal, more gold medals than any other Winter Olympian in history.
Men’s Ice Hockey had just over 1 minute of airtime for Team USA’s win over Germany.
Three women’s event received more than one minute of airtime.
Women’s Alpine Skiing had nearly 43 minutes of coverage for the giant slalom.
Women’s Speed Skating had more than 19 minutes of airtime the 500 meter race.
Women’s Bobsled had just over 1 minute for promos of the monobob event.
One mixed event had more than one minute of coverage as more than 50 and a half minutes were dedicated to the Figure Skating pairs short program.
Overall, coverage of men’s events accounted for 9.34% of NBC’s primetime Olympic broadcast. Women’s events received 50.69% of the coverage. Mixed sex events (e.g., ice dancing) received 39.7% of NBC’s coverage.
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When mixed sex events are excluded, men’s sports received 15.57% of NBC’s coverage compared to 84.43% 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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