NBCUniversal has completely sold out its advertising inventory for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, a full month before the Games begin on February 6—a historic first for the company due to unprecedented demand.
The sellout establishes new records as the highest-grossing Winter Olympics ever for NBCU in both linear broadcast and digital revenue, with over 100 new advertisers joining and more total brands investing than in any previous Winter Games.
Mark Marshall, Chairman of Global Advertising & Partnerships, attributed it to the resurgence of the Olympics, NBCU's strong sports portfolio (including the returning NBA), and an early Super Bowl LX sellout.
This achievement caps NBCU's "Legendary February" lineup, where ad slots for the Olympics, Super Bowl LX, and NBA All-Star Game have all sold out, potentially reaching nearly two-thirds of Americans.
Digital platforms play a major role, with over 85% of Olympic brand partners investing digitally and a 31% increase in adoption of Peacock's ad innovations compared to the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
The strong performance follows the success of Paris 2024 and underscores live sports' appeal to advertisers amid shifting media budgets. Previous Winter Olympics (like 2022 Beijing and 2018 PyeongChang) generated around $900 million each in ad sales, making this early, record-breaking sellout particularly notable.