The Winter Olympics return this week in Italy, where a six-hour time difference will shape two weeks of early-morning medal events and late-night finishes for U.S. viewers.
The big picture: The Milano Cortina Games feature 116 medal events across 16 disciplines and eight sports.
- About 3,000 athletes from more than 90 countries are competing.
When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Zoom in: The Winter Olympic Games officially run Feb. 6-22.
- Some preliminary events — including curling and ice hockey — begin before the opening ceremony.
What country are the 2026 Winter Olympics held in?
Events are spread across northern Italy from Milan to Cortina d'Ampezzo.
What time is the Olympics opening ceremony?
The ceremony will air Friday, Feb. 6, with live coverage starting at 2pm ET (11am PT) on NBC and Peacock.
- The ceremony is expected to last about three hours and takes place at San Siro Stadium in Milan.
- NBC will also air a primetime replay later Friday night.
Olympics time difference: Italy vs. U.S.
Italy is six hours ahead of Eastern time. This means for U.S. viewers:
- Many medal events will air live overnight or early in the morning.
- Weekend mornings and weekday afternoons will feature the most live action, while primetime coverage will recap the day's biggest moments.
Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on TV
NBCUniversal is the exclusive U.S. media rights holder for the Games and will air marquee events, daily coverage and nightly primetime programming.
- Coverage will air across USA Network, CNBC and other NBCUniversal cable channels. Find the full schedule at NBCOlympics.com/schedule.
- Viewers can watch coverage for free over the air since an HD antenna can pick up NBC's local broadcast in most U.S. markets.
Stream the Olympics on Peacock, Hulu and Roku
What we're watching: Peacock, NBC's subscription streaming service, will stream every Olympic event live, including multiview and highlight features.
- Hulu + Live TV subscribers can watch Olympic coverage on the streaming service.
- Roku users can access Olympic coverage through Peacock and NBCUniversal's TV apps, which are available on the platform.
- Fire TV users can watch Olympic coverage through the Peacock app, with Alexa voice search available to quickly find live events and highlights.
How to follow the Olympics with Google and YouTube
Zoom out: Google is leaning into search, maps and AI tools that surface real-time schedules, results and medal counts when users search for a sport, athlete or country.
- YouTube will feature highlights and clips from Olympic broadcasters, along with behind-the-scenes content tied to the Milan Cortina Games.
Winter Olympics schedule: Biggest competition dates
Dates reflect medal events and marquee finals; times vary.
- Feb. 6-7: Early medals in alpine skiing, biathlon and speed skating, plus the start of the figure skating team event.
- Feb. 8: The Super Bowl will air on NBC and Peacock that Sunday, with Olympic coverage also available throughout the day.
- Feb. 9-13: One of the busiest stretches, with medal events across figure skating, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, short track and speed skating.
- Feb. 14-16: A marquee weekend featuring figure skating finals, plus gold medals in snowboard and freestyle skiing.
- Men's and women's hockey semifinals begin during this stretch, with NHL players returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
- Feb. 18-22: The Games close with medals in ice hockey, cross-country skiing and speed skating, including the men's and women's hockey gold medal games.
Paralympic Winter Games dates
What's next: The Paralympic Winter Games will follow from March 6-15, with competition also held across northern Italy.
