The upcoming Winter Olympics have been on sports fans’ minds for a long time now. Surely, it has had its fair share of controversies, but that doesn’t mean that the anticipation has completely died down. And due to this, the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis have seen a viewership surge, pointing things in the right direction.
On X, Christine Brennan reported that the women’s long program and pairs averaged a robust 2.5 million viewers on NBC, a 6% increase from the last pre-Olympic nationals in 2022. This also became the most-watched US Figure Skating Championships since 2019.
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Even more impressive was the Saturday night performance, featuring the men’s free skate and free dance, which drew 2.2 million viewers, which was a stunning 51% year-over-year increase. These figures are pretty good, given the direct broadcast competition.
On that same Saturday night, the US Figure Skating Championships easily competed with a primetime replay of CBS’s Tracker and ABC’s Shark Tank and also held its own in total viewers against a high-profile men’s college basketball game (MD vs. UCLA) on Fox.
This surge in viewership truly showcased the level of anticipation that the fans have right before the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games. However, the success was still able to draw scrutiny from fans, who were frustrated due to the streaming service, which was quite limited.
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Fans weren’t happy despite the successful US Figure Skating Championships coverage
The major coverage of the US Figure Skating Championships was locked behind Peacock’s premium subscription. And fans across social media expressed their frustration, with a lot of people pointing towards the geographic and platform exclusivity, as this comment suggested: “It would be even higher if there was a stream available for Europe.”
This fan conveyed a similar emotion, saying, “If it was on NBC instead of Peacock, would be even higher, as it was I couldn’t watch it.” Another comment perfectly captured the frustration from the fans who just wanted to watch the event smoothly: “BEING ON STREAMER..PEACOCK..YOU ONLY COUNT VIEWERSHIP OF YOUR VERY OWN STREAMER! THE REST OF US WANT..ALL..ICE SKATING BACK ON CABLE TV WHERE VIEWERS WOULD EXPLODE..WE WANT TO RECORD THESE PROGRAMS AND WATCH ANYTIME NOT JUST TWO DAYS AFTER THEN GONE.”
Well, the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships delivered many glorious performances. There was Maxim Naumov, who skated months after losing both parents in a tragic plane crash and qualified for the Olympic Games for the first time in his career, and Ilia Malinin, who skated to his dominant fourth consecutive national title, and more. And the fans who missed these performances due to such restrictions in broadcasting were just frustrated.
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This fan, though, wasn’t a fan of the commentary, as they said, “Didn’t watch, couldn’t stand all the talking with Johnny and Tara. I’ll watch the Olympics on the world feed with the quiet commentary.” Looking at a successful coverage, this comment pointed out the reasons: “Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Maxim Naumov, Madison Chock and Evan Bates…….they’ll do that.”
So, these complaints stemmed from the streaming exclusivity. It showed how much fans are interested in such events, and missing out on them has frustrated them.
The post NBC’s 2026 US Figure Skating Coverage Hits New Highs but Draws Fan Backlash appeared first on EssentiallySports.
