Independently-owned NBC affiliates in medium-sized markets across the country are pulling in some of the strongest viewership of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games from Milan and Cortina this year, according to Nielsen data shared by the network.
During its first week, more people in Fort Myers, Florida and Minneapolis, Minnesota tuned in to NBC’s prime-time coverage of the Winter Olympic Games on their local affiliates than anywhere else in the country, with both stations achieving a 14.9 rating and a 22 share from the Opening Ceremony through events on February 12, the ratings data showed.
When accounting for ties in some markets, all top 20 stations by viewership are outlets not owned by NBC itself, and none of the top 20 stations are in top 10 TV markets.
Tied for 15th place, the top-performing station by market size is KUSA-TV (Channel 9), the NBC affiliate in Denver, according to Nielsen data.
Top 10 Markets: Winter Olympic Games
Rank
STATION
MARKET
OWNER
RATING
T1
WBBH 20
Fort Myers, Florida
Hearst Television
14.9
T1
KARE 11
Minneapolis-St. Paul
TEGNA
14.9
3
WTMJ 4
Milwaukee
E.W. Scripps
14.7
4
WPXI 11
Pittsburgh
Cox Media
13.7
5
WDTN 2
Dayton
Nexstar Media
13.6
6
KSDK 5
St. Louis
TEGNA
13.1
7
WPTV 5
West Palm Beach
E.W. Scripps
12.4
8
WWBT 12
Richmond, Virginia
Gray Media
11.6
T9
WKYC 3
Cleveland
TEGNA
11.4
T9
KSHB 44
Kansas City
E.W. Scripps
11.4
T9
WGRZ 2
Buffalo
TEGNA
11.4
Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel (February 6-February 12, 2026)
A similar viewership trend played out two years ago, when 19 independently-owned NBC affiliates drew the strongest audience for the network’s prime-time coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games from Paris.
Executives from the E. W. Scripps Company, Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA said their commitment to delivering stories about hometown athletes and similar news of interest from Paris was partially responsible for higher interest in their NBC-affiliated stations during the tournament.
Despite shrinking local news budgets at some station groups, many top-market NBC stations and affiliates sent reporters to the Winter Olympic Games, while others tried to localize their coverage where they could.
KCRA (Channel 3), the Hearst-owned NBC affiliate in Sacramento, has produced a nightly Olympics recap show while broadcasting live from Tahoe Palisades, which gained national attention during the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. The station has one reporter on the ground in Italy and utilizes a national Hearst correspondent for secondary reporting.
