CBC/Radio-Canada says Friday’s Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony was the most-watched Olympic Winter Games opening in Canada since Sochi 2014.
Sixteen million viewers watched CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony on CBC and Radio-Canada networks, in addition to broadcast partners TSN, Sportsnet and RDS, with an additional 1.1 million streams on CBC/Radio-Canada’s digital platforms, including CBC Gem, ICI TOU.TV, the CBC News app, Radio-Canada Info app, and the CBC and Radio-Canada websites dedicated to the Olympic Winter Games.
For the first time in Olympic Winter Games history, the Opening Ceremony took place across two cities, with the main ceremony in Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium as well as in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Parades in Milano, Cortina, Livignio and Predazzo totalled 2,900 athletes, including 135 representing Team Canada.
Hosted by CBC News Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and Olympics reporter Devin Heroux, the live broadcast drew an average minute audience of 2.5 million viewers – an increase of 221% over Beijing 2022 (788,000).
CBC’s live afternoon broadcast of the Opening Ceremony from 2 – 5:38 p.m. ET and primetime encore from 7:30 – 11 p.m. ET, were the first and second most-watched programs in Canada on Friday, among 2+ and 25-54 audiences. Viewership peaked at 2:56 p.m. ET when 3.1 million viewers watched Team Canada enter San Siro Stadium as part of the Parade of Athletes.
