Apptopia: Older Viewers Mobile Streaming Winter Olympics for Longest Stints on Peacock
February 18, 2026
Through the first 10 days of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, older Americans spent a record average 90 minutes streaming the Games on Peacock on their mobile devices, according to new data from analytics provider Apptopia.
More than 6.3 billion minutes of streamed Games content has been consumed, which tops the entire tally for the combined 2018 PyeongChang and 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
“Comparing the past three Olympic Games on Peacock, average time spent among daily active users is up for all age groups for these Winter Games, with the exception of the 36-45 bracket,” Apptopia said in a note. “Older users, those aged 46+, saw the largest increase over the Summer 2024 games, at 48.5%.”
Compared to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, daily active users are down 9%.
Across all NBCUniversal platforms, an average of 25.7 million viewers are watching the games on a daily basis — double the average 13 million viewers from the 2022 Games.
The 2026 Opening Ceremony averaged 3 million viewers on Peacock, making it the most-streamed Winter Games opening ceremony, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
Apptopia found that 27% of Peacock streamers watching the Winter Olympics are new to the app, and about 23% were returning users who had dropped their subscription before the Games. The remaining 50% were current active Peacock users.
“This means the Winter Games functioned less as a pure acquisition play and more as a full-funnel lifecycle tool, reactivating lapsed subscribers while deepening engagement among the existing base,” Adam Blacker, director of public relations at Apptopia, said in a statement.
Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!