8.7 Million Fans Watch Heartbreak: CBC Smashes Olympic Streaming Records

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina officially belongs to the digital age. New data reveals that Canadians consumed a staggering 89 million streams across CBC and Radio-Canada’s digital platforms. To put this into context, that’s more than triple the 29 million streams recorded during the Beijing 2022 Games.

Leading the charge was CBC Gem, which saw its Olympic streaming traffic explode by 632 per cent compared to the previous Winter Games. In total, Canadians spent over 42 million hours watching digital Olympic content, signalling a massive shift in how the country consumes its biggest sporting moments, according to the public broadcaster on Monday.

The Golden Goal: 8.7 Million Watch Sunday Morning Heartbreak

The undisputed peak of the Games occurred on Sunday, February 22. Despite the morning puck drop at 10:52 a.m. ET, 8.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Team USA’s Jack Hughes score the overtime “golden goal” to defeat Canada 2-1.

That single moment ended a 46-year gold medal drought for the Americans and became the most-watched event of the entire 16-day period. Even in defeat, hockey remained the king of Canadian television, with the top five most-watched moments of the Games all coming from the men’s and women’s hockey tournaments.

Here are the top 10 most-watched moments from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, including the broadcasting channels and the specific times they aired:

1. 8.7 million viewers: Jack Hughes’ overtime gold medal winner for Team USA over Canada in men’s hockey. (Feb 22 at 10:52 a.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

2. 5.1 million viewers: The final minute of the men’s hockey semi-final between Canada and Finland. (Feb 20 at 1:11 p.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

3. 4.4 million viewers: Canada’s OT goal against Czechia to win the men’s hockey quarter-final. (Feb 18 at 1:12 p.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

4. 4.23 million viewers: A replay of the third-period fight during the Canada vs. France men’s hockey game. (Feb 15 at 12:56 p.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

5. 4.22 million viewers: The final minutes of the women’s hockey gold medal game between Canada and the USA. (Feb 19 at 3:52 p.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

6. 3.5 million viewers: The procession of Canadian athletes during the Opening Ceremony. (Feb 6 at 2:56 p.m. ET | CBC, CBC News Network, Sportsnet, TSN)

7. 3.2 million viewers: The Canada vs. Switzerland women’s hockey game. (Feb 16 at 5:23 p.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

8. 3.1 million viewers: Canada’s gold medal victory in men’s curling over Great Britain. (Feb 21 at 3:49 p.m. ET | CBC)

9. 3 million viewers: The third quarter of the Canada vs. Switzerland women’s hockey game. (Feb 7 at 5:09 p.m. ET | CBC, Sportsnet, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

10. 2.6 million viewers: The Canada vs. Czechia men’s hockey group stage game. (Feb 12 at 12:42 p.m. ET | CBC, SportsnetOne, TSN1)

CBC Dominates the Airwaves

Beyond digital records, the national broadcaster maintained a firm grip on traditional TV. CBC ranked as the most-watched English network in the country for the duration of the Games, capturing a 25 per cent audience share. This represents a massive 11-point increase over Beijing 2022. It’s no surprise that the return of NHL superstars to the Olympics would see massive audiences.

The coverage reached a total of 30.5 million Canadians across all platforms, including partners like TSN (which included Bell’s Crave) and Sportsnet. With the Closing Ceremony now finished, the focus shifts to the Paralympic Winter Games, which kick off on Friday, March 6.