Winter Olympics 2026: Your Complete Viewing Guide for Every Event
The 2026 Winter Olympics have officially arrived, with the Italian cities of Milano and Cortina hosting the prestigious quadrennial festival of snow and ice-based sports. Following the previous Winter Games in Beijing, where Norway topped the medal table with sixteen gold medals ahead of Germany, the United States, and host nation China, Team GB secured just two medals. Both British medals came in curling during the final stages of the competition, with Eve Muirhead leading the women's team to gold and Bruce Mouat guiding the men's team to silver.
British Medal Hopes and Expectations for 2026
Expectations are significantly higher for British medal success at these Games, extending beyond the curling rink to various snow events. UK Sport has established an ambitious target of four to eight medals, with potential across a diverse range of sports including freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and ice dance. Former Olympic champions have already identified several British hopefuls who could achieve podium success during the competition.
Event Schedule and Geographical Zones
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will commence on February 4th, with the official opening ceremony scheduled for February 6th. The Games will continue through to the closing ceremony on February 22nd, featuring 116 medal events across nineteen action-packed days in Italy. The events are organized across four primary geographical zones: Milano, which will host the ceremonies along with sports like ice hockey, speed skating, and figure skating; Valtellina, featuring freestyle skiing and snowboard events; Cortina, home to women's Alpine skiing and ice sports including curling, skeleton, and luge; and Val di Fiemme, where ski jumping and cross-country skiing competitions will take place.
How to Watch Every Minute of Olympic Action
Viewers across the United Kingdom and Ireland will have access to more than 850 hours of comprehensive coverage across every sport, venue, and medal event through TNT Sports and the streaming service discovery+. Coverage begins from just £3.99 per month in the UK and €4.99 per month in Ireland on discovery+, providing access to TNT Sports 2 and multiple live event feeds. Live competition coverage will run daily from 9am to 10pm, preceded by an hour-long studio show previewing the day's events starting at 8am, followed by an end-of-day round-up once all live sporting action concludes.
Expert Commentary and Punditry Team
The broadcast will feature an impressive lineup of Olympic veterans providing expert analysis, including skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams, two-time Olympian and snowboarder Aimee Fuller, alpine skiers Ed Drake and Charlie Guest, bobsleigh pilot Lamin Deen, and curling bronze medallist Vicki Chalmers. This experienced team will offer unparalleled insight throughout the Games.
Platform-Specific Viewing Options
Sky TV: Access via TNT Sports on discovery+ depending on subscription type. Sky TV customers can activate discovery+ Entertainment at no additional cost to their current subscription, providing full Olympic access.
Virgin Media UK: Watch on TNT Sports; Virgin Media Entertainment customers can access via two linear pop-up channels.
Virgin Media Ireland: Watch on TNT Sports.
EE/BT: Access via TNT Sports on discovery+ depending on subscription type.
Amazon PVC: Access via any discovery+ subscription.
Vodafone UK: Customers can access via discovery+ Entertainment subscription.
Streaming Devices: Access via any discovery+ subscription on Roku, Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation, Apple TV+, Google TV, and Xbox.
BBC Coverage and Additional Options
The BBC will supplement coverage with two streams of live daytime action: between 9am and 10pm each day on BBC One and BBC Two, plus an Olympics Extra live stream on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport from 8am to 11pm. In total, the BBC will broadcast 450 hours of live sport, featuring analysis from two-time skeleton Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold, figure skating gold medallist Robin Cousins, curling gold medallist Vicky Wright, and former bobsledder Montell Douglas. This comprehensive broadcasting approach ensures no viewer misses a moment of the Winter Olympic action.
